Warrior: En Garde
by Adam-Bloodraven
Summary: For twenty years I protected my son from a monster that I knew was coming. I did things… horrible things. Some of which can never be forgiven. But when fate intervened everything that I had worked so hard to make came tumbling down… and my son would show the world that he was a warrior without peer. The only question on my mind was... would he live to see the world after...
1. Prologue: And it all Came Down

_**- Prologue: And it all Came Down -**_

The morning was the same as countless others had been since their arrival seventeen years prior. Their section of the castle was always deserted, no one dared cross the human sorceress or her son, and their domain was not to be trespassed upon either. Breakfast was delivered by the staff, assorted fruits, porridge, eggs, ham steaks, and bread. And then Lily dove into her work, and Harry his studies. But the morning of Saturday July the seventh of the year two thousand and one changed everything. Despite the risk, Lily continued to keep in peripheral contact with the wizarding world. Information is power, and being informed of at least the general goings on would do nothing but keep her informed. It was the paper delivered on that morning, that would change everything, and bring all her carefully laid plans down.

_**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Returns!**_

_It is with a heavy heard, and an unsteady hand, that we must report to you, our fine readers, that the dreaded Dark Lord has returned. After almost twenty years of absence, The Dark Lord has returned to darken our beautiful isle once again. Confirmed by multiple eye witnesses, including none other than Albus Dumbledore and Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, The Dark Lord and his followers laid siege to the Ministry itself, for what purpose it is unknown. However, due to the heroic actions of the men and women of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as several heroic bystanders, the attack was repelled! The damage to the Ministry Atrium has yet to be fully ascertained, but we will keep you, our readers, informed as more information is brought forward._

_For more information on You-Know-Who continue to pages 7, 9, and 14_

Minister for Magic Speaks Out

Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge released a statement early this morning in response to the attack on the ministry late last night. Printed below is the abbreviated version. Read the full statement on pages 10, 11, 12, and 13.

"As your Minister, it is my solemn duty to inform you all of the attack on the ministry late last evening. The Dark Wizard He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, ladies and gentlemen. But fear not! He has returned far weaker than before. He and his followers were driven off by our own Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as well as several heroic bystanders. But this proves one thing… that You-Know-Who is not as strong as he once was, and that his apparent death at the hands of the Potters has left him severely weakened. With this knowledge firmly in hand, we press on! I hereby call for an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot, and urge my brethren of said body, to declare a state of emergency. Let us not fear this shadow of a man, let us stand as beacons for purity in our wizarding world!"Pushing herself away from the table, she mumbled something about his practice and then left the tower. Long winding stairs led to the base of the tower, and the towers dark gray stone gave way to the smooth white marble of the castle proper. Bright colorful mosaics of fantastic scenes, rendered in precious gems and colored glass, high ceilings with beautiful painted scenes, tapestries and paintings. The castle was beautiful… but Lily knew the truth that it all hid. It was a façade that always reminded her of JRR Tolkin's work, "Dark, and beautiful, and terrible as the dawn."

Navigating the castle required fine tuned senses, as each day the corridors rearranged and redecorated themselves to fit the mood of its Lord. Today he seemed in a bright mood, if the scenes of his past battles and the bright colors were anything to go by. Almost two hours later found Lily passing through the doors of the West wing, where white marble gave way to weathered dark wood. Passing through the doors was like walking into another world. The bright and cheery atmosphere of the Lords Castle gave way to the gloom of the Western Lords domain. Scattered torches barely illuminated the halls, and every sound seemed to echo like thunder.

Striding though the gloom, Lily mastered herself and froze her emotions. She couldn't feel fear here… fear made you prey to the vassals of the West. Another twenty minutes of moving thought the murky gloom, past vague shapes and shadowed forms, she found his room. The grand doors were intricately carved of dark wood, and stood nearly twelve feet tall. The haunting scene depicted a crumbling ruin of a castle, a single shriveled figure stood at the fore upon a winding road leading up to the ruins. Scattered candles dotted the landscape, jewels worked into the wood, and skulls hung from the trees. She had seen the doors countless times before… she had been there when they were given to the former Autumn Lord.

She didn't knock, he didn't like people who knocked. Slipping quietly inside, she instantly heard the sound of his tools working, the clink of hammer on metal, the scrape of metal on wood, and the click of gears interlocking. Moving through his room, she was careful to avoid the scattered leaflets of paper, intricate patterns covering their surfaces, and the countless candles the dotted the landscape. She found him tucked back into his working corner, assembling something that she couldn't fully fathom.

"You promised." Her voice was accusatory, and her anger apparent.

He didn't stop, didn't even turn to look at her, "I told you that one day you would come to regret what you were doing. That you or your son would suffer for the contract that you signed."

"You horrible, foul, little creature!" Her wand was in her hand before she could even think, and a spell on her lips. But before she could utter more than a single syllable, pain erupted through her hand as the hand of an unknown assailant clamped down on her wrist and began to squeeze. Gasping in pain, she collapsed to her knees, and looked up into the shadowed depths of a black hood, and saw the wicked grin of her captor.

"Now deary, if I didn't know any better I would think that you just threatened one of the Kings vassals. And while he doesn't favor him anymore, that doesn't make him any less the Kings servant."  
Lily releases her hand and let the wand fall to the ground. Instantly the superhuman strength disappeared, leaving her wrist bruised, but not permanently damaged.

Turning back to the wizened form at the bench, she sagged in defeat. "Why?"

"You will have to be more specific." His voice was clipped, his annoyance apparent.

"Why weren't you more specific." It wasn't a question, it was an accusation

He turned, his eyes piercing into her and almost made her loose control of her fear. "I warned you. I told you that you or your son would suffer. Now you must choose, as you chose when you signed the contract. Your son will leave, his destiny lies outside this land, but you must choose to either leave, and suffer the wrath of the King and your broken contract, or let your son suffer without your aid."

Her eyes fell to the floor, and her voice became only a whisper, "Will…" she couldn't bring herself to say her fear.

"Speak or leave, I don't answer ambiguous utterances."

"If I stay…. Will he die?"

"No matter what you do, your son will die. Your presence will merely change the variables leading to his final demise. No one in this room can change that fate."

Her face shot up, and her eyes locked with his. "No one in this room… but there is someone."

He could see it in her eyes, her desperation giving way to the madness that had been gnawing at her mind for twenty years. "Yes. There is someone."

"Tell me… who is it."  
He scoffed. "You know it isn't as easy as that… I can see that somewhere out there, there is someone who can change his fate. Someone who can give him a will to come out the other side of the trials yet to come. But who… I cannot say."

Her voice took on an edge that both knew well, "No you know… you always know. You just wont tell me. You spiteful withered corpse of a man…" She drew in upon herself, and when her eyes met his again… his last sight was of burning red eyes filled with hate.

- Warrior: En Garde -

She let the door close behind her quietly, and then strode purposefully away. She could already feel the pangs… she had broken the contract she had made with the Lord. It was only a matter of time now before she was marked for all to see. A figure moved along side her, and she almost lashed out before she realized who it was. "Sonya."

"Sorceress."

The continued to walk, until he suddenly seized her arm and pulled her down an unfamiliar corridor. Roughly she pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Take your hands off me."  
"If you would prefer… I could leave you to the Autumn Lords men. They are waiting for you on the path you normally take."

Her eyes widened in shock, "What… how…"  
"You are within his domain… the King knows as well… you will need my aid to escape."

"Hoping to wipe your debt to me out?" Her gaze was piercing, but he stared right back unblinking.

"I don't want your son to suffer for your mistakes. He has to leave. You have committed a serious offense. You killed the Kings greatest seer and one of his most trusted advisers."  
"She wasn't trustworthy. Always consorting with goblins, she even wears their market in her mantle!" she hissed back.

"That doesn't matter to the King. Now, do you want my help or not."  
She bit her lip almost drawing blood, and then nodded. In for a penny…

Sonya had managed to get them to her tower in less time then she thought was possible. But being the creature he was, she wasn't surprised. As he slid the stone panel away to reveal her son's bed chambers, she realized that he had likely been here before… and that meant her son had likely been outside the tower without her consent as well. Turning to look back into the gloom, she could barely make out his form… only the shadow of the just over two meter tall man and his eyes… those piercing golden yellow eyes…

"This is as far as I can take you. I step foot beyond, and it is my life. Fare thee well Sorceress… may you always be down wind, the prey always be slow, and the shadows always conceal you." And then he was gone.

Turning away from the opening Lily was quick to begin casting spell after spell. Objects shrunk and flew about, streaming past her and to their final resting places. She met Harry halfway through the tower, and found that he had already begun packing up their possessions as well. As the last of their worldly possessions settled into its trunk, Harry waved his hand and they disappeared, waiting for Harry to retrieve them later. Taking his mother in his arms, he whispered, "Ready?" She nodded back, and the world around the blurred and twisted and there was a tension in the air that stretched until it felt as thou it would snap. And then just as suddenly, the tension was gone and they were no longer in the tower. Now they standing next to a cabin in a wood that neither had stood in for almost a decade. Now it was her turn, and gripping his arm, she spun on her heel, as mother and son disappeared with the crack of apparition.

- Warrior: En Garde -

Sonya could hear their voices through the ornate doors long before he ever saw them. He never hesitated, never faltered. They would know if he did. It wasn't his first time meeting them, but it was his first time meeting as the new Lord of the West… as the Lord of Autumn… impressions had to be made.

"… she betrayed us. Killing a vassal of the King, disgraceful."

"Never in all my years… simply so vulgar. I say we drop her in a lake and freeze over the top…"  
"… Should call a hunt instead, I can have five hundred men ready by moonrise my Lord…"

He threw open the doors, interrupting there conversations. The sudden silence was deafening in the vast chamber. Striding with power and purpose, Sonya made his way across the vast chamber, coming to kneel at the base of the stairs leading up to the throne. He didn't raise his head, and he waited for the King to address him first. After waiting a full five minutes, the king spoke, his voice was like silk gliding across the senses, but the power behind it was enough that Sonya knew that lesser beings would be in physical pain."

"Speak creature of Autumn. I do not have time for dalliances."

Sonya gathered his own power and brought it to bear against those in the room, 'I cannot look weak… I must not look weak…' "My King… the Sorceress has struck a grievous wound against the Court-"

A high pitched voice, with the sound of a singer, full of joy and mirth, slammed into him like a physical force. And for a moment he almost thought he would stagger before his own power pushed Her voice back. "Be silent! Do you think we do not know what the Sorceress has done! To kill the former Lord of Autumn… She should be impaled on a tree and left for the frost and crows-"

This time, he interrupted her, "I was speaking to my King, not you Lady of Winter. Keep your tongue behind your teeth or I will remove it."

Stunned silence followed, and then she hissed with obvious rage, "HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS THE LADY OF WINTER AS SUCH?!"

He kept his voice calm, but pushed even more of his power behind his words. "How dare you interrupt the Lord of Autumn when he reports to his King."

And then he heard the King laugh, a not all to unpleasant sound, Sonya remarked. "Tell me, truly, did my good Sorceress kill the old Lady of Autumn?"

"Yes my King. As her loyal hand, and next in the line of succession, I now assume my rightful place at on your council, if that would please you."

"Look at me creature." It was not a request, and Sonya knew it.

Lifting his gaze, smooth granite steps went up in three tiers of thirteen, ending on a raised dais of black stone. On the dais a bleached white throne, the Throne of Bones, and sitting comfortably upon it was the King. He was a perfect specimen, just over two meters tall, his skin was a perfect blend between white and bronze. His hair was like spun gold, and fell about his shoulders in a way that would make mortal or immortal woman alike swoon for him. His face was perfect, no blemishes of any kind, and his piercing blue eyes stared into Sonya's soul. He couldn't look away… not until ordered… but he could already find his power being stretched thin simply by gazing at his King and having the King's full focus on him. His focus was like a mountain… the full weight of it pressing down on him enough that even with his power, he felt as though if he shifter even a hair's breadth, he would be crushed to the floor and smashed beneath it. And then the King brought his mind fully to bear against him. And for the first time, in a very long time, Sonya knew what it was like to be afraid.

Some time later he recovered… for a few minutes he couldn't tell when he was… or where he was. But after his heart stopped threatening to leap from his chest, he realized that the King had only focused on him for a mere seven seconds. "You will do… Lord of Autumn. Take your seat… we must discuss how this situation should be handled." And then a slithering tendril of power was inside his mind, and the King's voice was inside his mind as well. 'Do not think that I do not know what you have done… Lord of Autumn. You helped her escape from this place… but you didn't not break your vows. This is what saves you, and allows you to take your place here. You have broken no law or vow. No matter what you do here, know this… Break one vow… violate one single contract… and you will find my full attention brought upon you again… and this time… I will not blink.'

Sonya made his way to his place, at the table at the bottom level on the King's left, the seat closest to the King. As he faced away from his King, Sonya shivered in his own mind, and he felt as though he was a mere kitten again… the same mewling pitiful thing that The Huntsman had taken in so long ago. He forced the last of his power into his voice, and spoke with the authority of Autumn. "My King, let the actions of the court bring you entertainment and the traitor at the same time. Each of the Lords shall send their own hunters to retrieve her, and the one that succeeds shall be granted your favor, and allowed to make their season last as long as my King deems it fit."

The King's voice drifted through the air, "Splendid! Your first suggestion, and I already believe you will a much better Lord then either of your predecessors. It is my wish that this happen! Let the games begin!"

AN:  
This is a rough draft at best, that I threw together over little more than an hour of actual writing. I intend to leave it as is for now, and continue on into the story. That being said, feed back is appreciated. I will be revising this little by little as feedback comes in, and around the release of chapter ten I will begin posting the revised edition. The revised edition will be the final edition. Thank your for your patience and time.

Adam


	2. Chapter One: Old Friends

_**- Chapter One: Old Friends, New Allies -**_

The creak of old wood, the lapping of waves on the shore, and the smell salty smell of the Atlantic. Lilly hadn't smelled the sea in almost ten years, memories flowed back into her mind unabated by their age. Just as quickly she locked the memories away, they brought on an the aching pain of a raw wound even nearly twenty years later, and she couldn't afford distractions.

The buildings were build on raised platforms, almost three meters off the ground, reminiscent of homes in areas where floods are common. The only buildings that weren't raised, started on the shore and moved out into the cove. Ramshackle buildings meant for fishing and processing the catch. Lilly and Harry walked together, though now he was striding just in front of her, shielding her from the looks of others.

Even now, Lilly knew she was barely on her feet. Pumped to the gills with mundane pain relievers, she was running a fever and even touching her magic was like pouring molten iron in her veins. The fey contract broken was causing her own magic to rebel against her. She could only hold off its effects so long thou… another week at most. If she didn't let the magic take its effect then she would die as a result. But before that she needed her son to be safe, and then needed back into Britain.

Lilly checked her hood again, making sure it was pulled up masking the features that were already beginning to change, and guided her son to the lone house at the end of the long winding path away from the village proper.

It looked exactly the same as when she had last passed through. The vessel had once been a galleon, but now served as the home of one Malcolm Scots. And even now she could see him at what had once been the fore of the great vessel, his fishing line cast off into the waters of the cove. Walking up the makeshift steps and onto the deck she almost didn't sense what was about to happen… a flash of insight and she and Harry sprung apart, diving in opposite directions. Her back down the stairs, and him further onto the deck. The flash of spell light passed through where they would have been, if nor for their quick escape, splashing into a nearby tree and setting it ablaze. The figure at the fore of the ship didn't move so much as an inch and it was then that Lilly realized that it was most likely a decoy.

As Harry dove into cover between the mast and several barrels, Lilly ducked behind the nearest tree, and a voice rose above it all. "You are in violation of International Magical Travel Act of fourteen hundred and sixty three. Present yourselves for arrest and no one gets hurt."

Harry was quick to poise the question, "On who's authority do you act?"

"We act at the behest of the International Confederation of Wizards! This location was the home of a known smuggler! Present yourselves!"

"So… your saying that you knowingly violated the sovereign soil of another country that does not allow your operations within its borders?"

Now it was Lilly's turn to speak, "Malcolm! It's Evens! The first time we met you almost choked on candy, while you flailed about you knocked over several time-turners, which I rescued."

Coming out from behind the tree, she spotted the man about halfway up the mast in a crow's nest. "Evens! Merlin girl, didn't thing I would ever see you again!" Looking down at Harry he was quick to shout, "Boy! Get inside, you too Evens! Not safe out here!" The man made several intricate motions and the flaming tree extinguished itself, leaving behind a charred husk. As Lilly and Harry made their way into the captain's cabin, the man lowered a rope, and slid his way down. Then, with a flick of his wand the rope retracted itself back into the nest.

The cabin was the exact opposite of what Harry had been expecting. Instead of cramped and enclosed, it spread out into a vast room, easily five times its outer size. As the doors closed behind their host, Malcolm turned and quickly embraced Lilly. Harry had to quickly remind himself that this man wasn't a threat, despite what he had done not three minutes before. It was then that he took stock of their… host.

He was just a few inches taller then his mother, with hair that looked like it might have at one time been brown, but now was almost completely washed out to gray with even strands of white showing. His face pockmarked, leaving him with an appearance that would likely make most young children cry, but his most startling feature was his eyes. One was a bright blue that reminded Harry of a winter sky, while the other was a murky brown reminiscent of dark earth.

"So… being a most hospitable host to old friends… might I offer you a drink?"  
Lilly sent him a withering look, "No Malcolm, I'm here for the same reason that I was when I left, I…" she looked back at Harry, "We need to get back into the country undetected. And we need a place to stay."

He narrowed his eyes and sent a fierce look back at her. "And why would you want to get back in? England's a war zone. Fighting's been going no for almost a year now, only now the ministry isn't stalling and, 'Gathering additional information to confirm if there is a legitimate threat, and where such a threat might come from'. Evens, I'm not about to get you back in there. You know what it was like when he was around last time, hell, you lost someone. I wont do it. Now, if you will excuse me…" as he tried to walk away, Lilly's hand shot out and latched onto his arm with an iron grip, also revealing her partially transformed hand.

"My son survived the killing curse."

The man froze, and stared at the hand now latched onto his arm in a death grip. "My God Lilly… what did you do…" Harry could see the fear in his eyes.

Reaching up, Lilly pulled back the hood and showed him her face. "I broke a contract Malcolm… Service until I was released… But I can't let my son walk into hell alone."

Malcolm turned to look at the man, Harry, that he hadn't seen since his infancy. "So… you survived a killing curse cast by the most evil man in the last half century?"

"When I was a little over one year old, yeah."

"How?"

Harry looked to his mother, looking for subtle hints as to how to respond. Her nod was almost imperceptible. Rather than say anything, he looked the man in the eyes, and willed the change. Malcolm let out an audible gasp, and staggered away as if physically struck, tripping over a liquor cabinet and falling to the floor, where he continued to push himself away and drew his wand only when he was pressed against a wooden pillar. His voice came out a harsh whisper, "Lilly…"

She moved her body to stand in front of Harry, physically shielding him from her friend from so long ago. "Malcolm… he's my son."  
"That… thing is no son… it's a monster."  
Harry knew the look she sent the man then. Her eyes were like ice and he could feel her reaching for her magic. He needed her to stop now, before she hurt herself. So he kicked her in the back of the knee, sending his mother crashing to the floor. Her concentration was broken, and he felt her power calm back to the slight boil that was now its state of rest. Malcolm didn't look shocked in the least.

But he crouched down and pressed his head under her chin. "Calm down. You can't do that here. You'll be weak and I can't protect you here. We need someplace safe first."

Pulling his head back, Lilly looked into her son's eyes and he saw her acceptance. "You're right." He climbed back to his feet and pulled her with him. Lilly turned back to Malcolm.

"Will you help me Malcolm, or not?"

The man stared wide eyed at both of them. "Never seen one not try to eat someone before."  
It was Harry who responded, "I'm not a monster Mr. Scots. I don't eat people for fun. I'm not fully human, but I don't just kill without thought. My mother and my teachers have spent years pounding self control into me. I just have to be careful, and stay away from certain places. It's like being your average werewolf," Malcolm's look was almost as withering as the one his mother used, "Alright… it might be slightly more difficult. But it's nothing I can't handle."

Malcolm stared at the woman he had once called a friend. He knew that if it got out that he helped her and her… son get into the country that he wouldn't be safe anywhere in the wizarding world. But if anyone could kill the man that now threatened to burn the country to the ground around them all… it would be someone like him. He dropped his head, refusing to look either of them in the eye, and gestured to a cabinet several feet down the wall. "Second shelf from the top. Password is crackpot. Activation phrase is Molehill." Then he looked up at them. "You were never here. Destroy it when you get to the other side."

"Thank you Malcolm."  
"Lilly…" She stopped to look back at him.  
"I don't ever what to see either of you again. If I do… we are not friends. I will shoot to kill." Lilly was quick to retrieve the portkey.

"Where will it take us."

"An old bunker that some of the old crew put together just after the last war. Not many of us around any more… And no one should be using it. It'll be safe. Take care of yourself Evens." And just like that, Harry and Lilly ducked out the door and were gone.

About fifty yards down the path, she held out the length of rope to her son. Harry could see the emotions playing across her face and see the pain behind her eyes. "Mother"

She quickly cut him off. "Not now. Later. On the other side." He nodded back, and took hold of the rope. "Molehill." And with a quick tug behind their navels, Lilly and Harry Potter disappeared from one side of the Atlantic Ocean and reappeared in an underground bunker in the English countryside. Almost instant Lilly was on her knees, her face a deathly shade of white, only barely holding in her scream.

But Harry was there, and he caught her before she could fall. "It's alright mum… let it out." The dam broke, and Lilly Potter let loose a blood curdling scream of inhuman agony. He could feel the pain radiating off of her, as well as when every muscle in her body contracted. And all he could do was set her on the cold stone floor, and keep watch.

- Warrior: En Garde -

"So you're sure it's alright if we use it for testing."  
Remus Lupin sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past ten minutes.  
"Yes. We put the place together over ten years ago, and it hasn't been used in almost eight. It's isolated, well warded, and most of all only six or so people on the planet know that it even exists."

Ethan Morston still held a nervous expression on his features. "You're absolutely sure?"

Remus resisted the urge to strangle the young man in front of him. "Yes. Ethan, you came to me. If you don't trust me, then why did you even ask?"  
"It's not that I don't trust you sir… it's just that… we don't know what might happen. Hell, we might blow the whole place up. And our research isn't exactly… legal."  
"I've seen your notes, and I know what you're trying to do Ethan. It's a noble goal. If you succeed, it could bring about a whole new understanding of the world we live in. That's something I'm willing to risk a lot for."

Still the young man hesitated. "Would you be more comfortable if I stayed on while you did your work there? I could pitch in, and make sure you don't get out of control." Ethan's eyes lit up, "That would be wonderful sir!" Remus suppressed a sigh, smiled and nodded at the man. "Alright." Reaching into one of the drawers he retrieved on of the old portkeys. "Here you go Ethan. It's multi use, just go and set up your equipment there. I'll join you in there sometime tomorrow and we can get to work. "Oh thank you sir, you wont regret this, I promise!" And with that Ethan dashed out the door of Remus's study, and moments later Remus could hear the front door close as well.

Not even two minutes after the boy had made his mad escape, another head poked through the door. And Remus had to suppress another sigh, 'Is it too much to ask to get some work done occasionally?' He thought. But Sirius Black was not a man to be ignored. That usually resulted in pranks… and quite frankly said pranks would waste even more time than Sirius himself.

"What do you want Sirius?"  
Sirius Black's expression shifted to one of shock and hurt. "Why Remus, can't I just want to say hello to my good friend? To the man who shares my home and makes sure I don't go nutters with boredom?" Remus's look was flat.

"On Tuesday after two? Not likely. By this point you should either be at Hogwarts, in a muggle pub getting drunk, attempting to harass the Weasley boys into letting you try more 'free samples' of their products, or hosting your adopted godchild after another family fight. The only reason you would come to me after two on a Tuesday would be because you either did something wrong or because you want me to do you a favor. Which is it?"

Sirius expression was instantly one of guilt, he had never really been that good at hiding his feelings. "Ginny's having a hard time Remus, I was just wondering-" Remus cut him off, "It's your house Padfoot. I'm just a guest-" and it was his turn to be cut off. "No Remus, this is your home as much as mine. We've talked about this."

"And I'll be damned if I let you make me into a charity case. I rent the room from you. I pay you every month."  
"And I've told you that I don't need the money."

His temper flared, "I'll be leaving now." Pushing past his friend, Remus took his cloak and was out the door as fast as he feet would carry him. Then with a spin of his heel he was standing outside the doors of the old hideaway. It had taken eight months to build the bunker, hidden away as it was in the hills to the east and south of Bangor. Dozens of defensive charms, from muggle repelling to unplottable were all tied the site's rune stone, making it one of the safest places in all of Britain. Over two dozen such sites were scattered all over the Isles, with almost twice as many in France, and five times that across the rest of Europe. Preparations for a war that had failed to materialize… and now decades later had truly begun.

Opening the door was easier than Remus remembered, but once inside he froze. The lights were on. There was no way that Ethan would be here this quickly. It hadn't even been a half hour, and he wouldn't be coming in the front. He would land in the old portkey room. Drawing his wand, Remus quickly and quietly cast a silencing charm on his feet and a quick disillusionment charm over himself and then began to stalk the halls. However it didn't take him ten minutes to find his intruder… it didn't take him five minutes… because not three minutes into his search, his intruder found him.

Three minutes into the search Remus found himself pinned to the ground, his wand across the corridor, and a person perched on his back keeping him where he was. The voice that assaulted his ears was rough, with a low almost inhuman growl to it, "Who sent you?! How did you find us?! Answer me or I'll start breaking my way up your spine."

"Easy there, was just wondering who found this place. Haven't been here in almost a year, and I just gave someone the place as a workspace. Needed to make sure it was fit for living." The pressure on his back didn't lessen.

"Name! Tell me you name werewolf!" At that Remus froze.

'How in Merlin's name…' "Remus, Remus Lupin."  
"Hogwarts graduating class of nineteen seventy eight?"

'What is going on,' the pressure on his spine increased "Yes."  
"What was the first gift you ever game to James and Lilly's son?"

Now Remus was absolutely confused. There were only two people alive that knew the answer to that question. "A book of fairy tales… the collected works of Amaro Silvertongue."

Then just as suddenly the assailant's bodyweight was off of him. Looking up, his eyes came to rest on a young man, probably still a teenager, who stood across the corridor on the balls of his feet, with the face of a ghost from his past. "James…"

"My name is Harry."

Lupin froze. His eyes were a piercing shade of green… Lilly's eyes. "You're lying. The Potters have been dead for nearly twenty years now. Bad form there,"  
"I know not what I will see beyond that beautiful horizon, only that when tomorrow dawns, the world will be reborn anew. And we shall all live in times free of sorrow and strife." Remus stared. "How…"  
"It was my favorite book until I was almost ten. It was the only thing I got to keep for a long time." Rising to his own feet, the man shifted and tossed him his wand. "You any good with healing charms?"  
"I know a few, but they're definitely not my specialty."

"Well that something at least. Follow me."

The young man guided Remus down several of the corridors and into one of the empty rooms near the portkey room. Inside Remus found a bed with a figure wrapped in white sheets, now stained with blood. As he approached, he didn't recognize the figure, who only barely resembled a human. Its skin was patches of unmarred human skin and scales, and as he took a closer look closely resembled dragon hide, as he looked closer he was certain that the figure had was that of a woman. Her face was drawn in a rictus of pain, and sweat glistened across her skin. She had no hair, but several blood red spines seemed to be pushing their way out of the woman's skull, forming a ridge or sorts.

"Who is she? What happened? Transfiguration gone wrong? I know several," The man's voice cut him off. "Nothing we can do but wait it out and keep her alive in the meantime. She broke a fey contract. She's being changed as a result." Remus stared. "Broke a fey contract… you've been across the Atlantic all this time?"

"We have been yes." Remus caught the statement.  
"We… as in?"  
"As in mum and I."

Remus looked down at the woman in the bed. And realized that if he looked closely, he could just barely make out Lily's features beneath what was being changed. "Why would Lily get herself mixed up with the fey? They're dangerous."  
"They are also the lesser of several evils when it comes to the powerful, and willing to shield a mother and her son from outside danger."

Looking for somewhere to sit, Remus found something akin to a muggle camping chair and promptly collapsed in it. The young man… no, Remus reminded himself, Harry, was propped up against the wall closest to the bed, keeping vigil. For a second Remus saw his eyes flash and change, his pupils shifted into slits and the color shifted to a yellow gold, and just as suddenly they were the usual green. But Remus had seen it… he knew those eyes, and he knew that condition. Being a therianthrope wasn't easy, but it explained how he knew that Remus was a werewolf for example. The only remaining question was… what kind of animal was Remus dealing with.

AN: Again, more raw spun story. I don't feel I'm doing my best work. I haven't written anything like this in almost a year, so my skills are going all to rust. I've already noticed several errors with the previous chapter. I'll rectify those sometime in the next few days. The same for this one.  
- Adam


	3. Chapter Two: Fire in the Blood

_**- Chapter Two: Fire in the Blood -**_

Two agonizing weeks had left Harry's nerves fried. He needed to get our of the bunker, but at the same time he couldn't leave his mother. She still hadn't regained consciousness, but the transformation was at least over. Now all he could do was wait, and if it had been just him and Mr Lupin, he might have been fine with it. But now with twenty some odd people constantly moving around the place, all he could do was wait… and continue to go stir crazy.

He heard footsteps coming down the corridor, reaching out he instantly recognized it as Lupin. Several taps and a muttered incantation later the door opened and let Remus inside the room. Harry froze him on the spot with his gaze, "Lupin… I need to know if I can trust you." Remus's response was to cock an eyebrow. Harry sighed, "What I mean to say is that I need to be absolutely certain that I can trust you with my mother's life."

"Harry, you know that you can trust me."  
He sent a withering glare at Remus. "I don't know anything Lupin. You were her friend once, but twenty years can change a man. You've kept the secret that we're here well enough, but I have to be certain…" he paused, "I'm sorry about this."

Before Remus could react he was pinned to the wall and he felt fangs sink into his shoulder. He let out a startled grunt and tried to force the youth off of him, but Harry proved that he was absolutely stronger that his elder. For a moment, Remus thought that this was the end. That he had been fooled all along and the moment he let his guard down had killed him. He wouldn't see Sirius again, or Moody, or Dumbledore, or Tonks… and then he was sliding down the wall and Harry… Remus Lupin couldn't react to what he saw. He was still in shock after the attack, but he now understood completely. Harry wasn't a therianthrope…

"Now, I'm going to leave you to guard my mother. I'm going to be gone for a while. If I find anything wrong when I get back… you will wish that I killed you." There was a flicker of power, the air around Harry shimmered and he was simply gone. Remus Lupin continued to stare at the empty space that his long dead friend's son had occupied. He was trapped now… turning to stare up at Lily he asked his question, but knew he wouldn't get an answer. "Lily… you've just brought a monster into war zone where he can feed freely… what were you thinking?"

- Warrior: En Garde -

The evening air was a soothing balm to his unsteady nerves. He let his legs take him where they may, in an effort to burn off the weeks of nervous energy he had pent up. After running nonstop for several hours, with the moon beginning to rise, Harry Potter felt calm enough to begin the next ritual of his life. His blood sang with triumph at being released, his warring natures finally finding their balance again in the hunt. He let his power wash through him, and felt his skin shift yet again, his muscles and bones took on the familiar churning sensations that he had become so accustomed to.

Several hours later he had yet to find prey that was would satisfy his Beast's desire. The Beast desired worthy prey… and worthy prey was few and far between here in the Isles. As his inner natures warred, each tried to convince the other. The Beast wanted to hunt regardless of what others would think, let a wizard be their prey. Let the weak be culled and the strong feast. Harry on the other hand staunchly refused, and continued to try to cajole the Beast to find less sordid prey. Sate itself on lesser prey for now, and wait to savor the hunt that would soon begin. And all the while, his Spirit acted as mediator.

As his natures continued to war, reaching a boiling point, the air shifted. He felt the magic ripple across the hills… wizards… eight of them had just appeared. Then another twelve. And then magic began to fill the air… a fight. He ran, the air distorting around him as he opened a Way to get close. Seven strides, distortion. Seven more, distortion. He quickly homed in and found himself atop a rocky outcropping overlooking a scene that made his blood sing for battle.

Several figures were crouched down behind rocks against the outcropping below. They were trading spell fire with a dozen figures dressed in black. Even at this distance he could hear the ones below him over the din of battle. Children, mewling pitiful cubs, unable to defend themselves. And then all of him was in agreement. No one preyed on the young while he could help it. And with that he gathered his power, changed his skin again, and leapt, opening a Way.

Vincent Crabbe was having an absolutely wonderful day. He had been selected by the Dark Lord to lead a raid with the junior Death Eaters. He had a gorgeous wife, a son on the way, and to top it all off he was on the fast track to being a department head at the ministry. Life was good. The air in front of distorted with a ripple and a furry muzzle clamped down on his throat, claws cut into his shoulders, and he felt his windpipe give a sickening pop and then he couldn't breath. The last thing he saw, were silted golden eyes that burned with rage.

Like a shot Harry was off into the grass, his black pelt was perfect camouflage. Another black figure ahead, he bolted by and his jaws snapped out, catching the assailant unawares. Fangs sunk into the flesh just behind the ankle, and he clamped down and wrenched the flesh away. The satisfying snap of hamstringing his opponent was music to his ears driving him to inflict more pain on his prey. His third target spun and lashed out a curse at him, but it was simply to slow. He bolted past, his claws raked the woman's thigh and the satisfying sensation of his claws meeting bone let him know that she would be dead in less than two minutes.

By now, the Death Eaters were panicking. Spells flew in several directions, each of the junior members trying to strike the unknown assailant in their midst. The figures who had been taking shelter among the rocks took the opportunity. "GO! FOLLOW THE TRAIL! GET INSIDE THE WARDS!"

One of the figures in black turned at the words and began to utter a curse… then his hand was on fire. Two fingers and his wand were missing and he cried out in pain and shock. He fumbled for the portkey that would get him to safety, only for his leg to be taken out from under him as he flipped end over end and rolled through the grass. Oberon simply lay there, shock setting in as he stared up at the starts. Was this how it was going to end? Bleeding to death in some field in the middle of nowhere? When he came back to his senses he realized that the field was silent. He reached for the portkey, only for something heave to smash down on his hand, mere inches away from his escape.

A massive paw rested on his hand, pushing it down into his chest and causing his ribs to ache. A massive jungle cat, was perched atop him and stared down at him with hungry eyes. For the first time in his life, Oberon stared at something so much stronger than him, something that could easily stamp out his life. And he wasn't afraid. He had only just graduated from Hogwarts, and spent his school years in Slytherin. Coming out of school he had almost no prospects. He wasn't exceptionally smart, nor did he have well connected friends. His mother and father had died shortly before his graduation, and with almost nothing to his name beyond being 'pure blooded', he took the only opportunity available. The Dark Lord scared him… but what else did he have?

Then he realized that something had retreated from his mind… a presence that wasn't his own, and he shuddered. This creature could get inside his head! It had just rummaged through his thoughts! And then the presence was there again, only this time it spoke, 'Leave. You will find Remus Lupin. You will tell him what you did here tonight. And he will make use of you. If I ever catch you hunting cubs again… I will take more than your digits.' And then the great cat was off into the grass and vanishing into the night. Leaving Oberon to lay in the grass and stare up at the stars.

- Warrior: En Garde -

'Everything hurts.' Were the first thoughts in Lily's mind when she finally regained consciousness. Turning her head to the left and right, she surveyed the room, trying to get her bearings. Grey stone… maybe concrete? A metal door wide enough for two people to slip through, and rune etched. She couldn't remember where she was. The last thing she remembered was… the castle. And then it all came rushing back. Her betrayal, the flight from the castle, and the portkey to England. The pain. No wonder everything hurt. She looked around the room and couldn't locate her son. Where was he? He wouldn't leave her alone like this.

She pulled back the sheets and swung her legs off the bed and climbed to her feet. The floor was cool to the touch, and she resisted the urge to shiver. She ran her hand up to smooth her hair back, only to find something else. Running her hand over he head, she had bony spines and ridges that ran the length of her skull, which now seemed distorted and inhuman. Looking down at herself for the first time, she realized that she only looked vaguely human anymore. Scaly skin ran the length of her body. Then she realized. 'Really? A thousand thousand forms for my magic to choose under the influence of a curse, and I'm most like a dragon? If I ever lay eyes on another fey, it will be too soon.'

She was interrupted from her musings by the sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor outside the door. Instinct seized her, and she sought purchase digging her claws into the wall she drug herself onto the walls above the door. And then froze. 'What am I doing?' she thought. The door opened and a man with graying brown hair stepped in and looking around the room let loose a gasp. "Shit. Where did she go?" She didn't give him time to wonder. Someone had found them, and obviously subdued Harry or forced him to flee. She dove into his back and pinned him to the ground.

"Who are you? How did you find us?"  
"Not this again!"  
"Better hurry up, or I'll tear out your throat."

"At least Harry had the decency to just want to break my back! Lily, it's Remus!"

Lilly froze. Remus? No… it was an imposter. "What was the gift you gave me when I told you all that I was pregnant?"  
"A book joke book that detailed how to child train your husband. I wrote, 'Because someone has to do it, and if you can't then there's no hope for him'."

She climbed off of his back and let him right himself. "Remus… what… how…"

Brushing himself off, he pulled her into an embrace. "Lily, you have no idea how good it is to see you."  
"How did you find us?" He chuckled.

"To be more accurate, we both just stumbled across each other. I helped build this place, after the war ended the last time. Just a case of bad timing, I came out to make sure the place was set up for someone who needed the space to work. Then Harry pinned me to the floor and threatened to break my spine one vertebra at a time."

Pushing away from her former friend, Lily too the chance to examine him a bit more closely. His cloths were shabby, and looked second hand. His hair was turning gray, and his sported several scars that she didn't remember. But overall, he didn't look all that bad off for twenty years of wear and tear. Then she realized that she wasn't wearing any cloths. Reaching back she snagged the sheet off the bed and quickly wrapped herself in it. Remus seemed to realize the same thing and turned away.

"So… Harry tells me you you've been hiding out in the Americas?"

Lily couldn't help the glare that she new she was sporting. "Yes. Where is he?"

Remus fidgeted, and seemed to ignore the question. "Remus." She warned.

"He left last night. He needed to get out of here, you've been unconscious for two weeks. He hadn't left your side for more than five minutes in that time. Lily… why did you bring him here."  
"He's tied by prophecy Remus. Couldn't stop him even if I wanted to."

"Well it is hard to stop a creature classified as six X by every ministry in the world."

Lily froze in place, and stared hard at Remus. "Turn around and look me in the eye Remus." He did exactly that, and his eyes were searching, looking for something on her features or in her eyes that showed that she felt any remorse for what she had done. He found nothing of the sort.

"Lily. You just brought the most dangerous creature in wizarding history into an active war zone! It feeds on the dead and dieing, and grows stronger as a result! It took the effort of not just the Wizarding World but the Fey Courts and the Vampire Courts to destroy the last one! Roanoke Lily! Almost three thousand people gave their lives to stop that monster… and you just let one loose here!" Her gaze was absolutely murderous.

"He's my son Remus. And he's the only one who can kill Voldemort."

"Bollocks that! We'd be trading one monster for another! You have to get him out of here!"

"Alright… the second I can force him to leave I will." The look on his face told him all he needed to know. "You came to keep him under control."  
"Now there's the man who knew how to think. As long as he knows I'm here, he'll fight tooth and nail not to disappoint me. He'll avoid needless killing, because if I find out he'll know that I would be disappointed in him. You can't control someone like him through force Remus… you have to twist him up emotionally."

He stared at her like she had grown a second head. "That sounds… Lily… that horrible. That emotional abuse at such extremes… it's little better than Voldemort."  
"I didn't say that I was any better than that monster. I've done horrible things to keep my son under control Remus. I've sacrificed more than you could possibly know." Gesturing down at herself, "I've even given up my humanity to keep him in line. And I will do anything it takes to make sure that he stays that way." Her gaze didn't falter, and Remus was treated to a sight he had never seen before. Lily Potter's eyes were no longer green… they were a deep blood red.

- Warrior: En Garde -

The sounds of birds singing and the hot sun bearing down on him finally roused Harry Potter from his sleep. Grumbling, he yawned and stretched his body, working the kinks out from the previous night. His blood had calmed down to a more manageable level with the nights excursion, and he was glad for the respite. But now that he got a good look around, he realized that he didn't exactly know where he was anymore. Letting out a huff, he let the change ripple across him once again. But he couldn't quite seem to settle himself. Cursing he redoubled his efforts and managed to change back to his natural human self… except for his eyes. His eyes were still stuck. Letting out a sigh, he simply decided to deal with it for the moment, and conjured a pair of sunglasses to cover his eyes and block out the overly bright summer sun. With his eyes hidden, and his vision no longer so bleached that he could barely make out his nose, he strode off through the orchard that had been his sleeping place for the night.

It didn't take him long to hear both cries of joy and moans of displeasure. Trying to put on his most friendly face, he exited the stand of trees to find several children perched atop brooms flying around what appeared to be a makeshift quidditch pitch. In the near distance, Harry could clearly make out a house that looked like an assorted mishmash of different houses cobbled together and rising several stories into the air, all of it looking as though it was held up only by some miracle of magical ingenuity.

Leaning up against the nearest tree, he surveyed the faces of those aloft. Several had the same shocking red hair and pale freckled completion, and the others were a scattered bunch. However, he recognized several voices from the previous night's combat. Most of them were young, not old enough to be of age if he remembered correctly. However he was brought out of his musings as one of the children missed a pass and the off-red all came soaring his way.

He calmly walked forward, caught the ball and using its momentum and slung it right back to the group. Several gasped in shock and seemed clearly impressed by the action. However he needed answers, not play time. "Would one of you mind coming down for a quick chat?!" He shouted. The reaction wasn't one he expected, as the entire group came down to apparently greet the stranger.

One of the red haired men landed first and stuck out a hand. "Ron Weasley."

"James Evens." He reached in and gripped the man's forearm in a warriors greeting. "Well, what brings you out this way James?" The man had an uneasy look on his face.

"Well it seems that I've lost my way, got all turned around last night and passed out in an orchard. Just trying to find out where I ended up, and get back into contact with my host."

Ron smiled at him, but Harry could see the unease behind it. He was hesitating… and then Harry realized that one of the red haired men from before wasn't among them. "Ron… you don't mind if I call you Ron do you?"  
"Can't say that I would mind all that much."  
"Where'd your brother get off to?" Ron Weasley's face blanched, and Harry realized that he wasn't a very good liar, and neither was he good at hiding his feelings. Stepping back he made to disengage himself from the group. "Alright, I can see I'm not welcome here. I'll just be on my way."  
A gruff voice from the previous evening interrupted his retreat. "Move one more muscle and I'll make sure it's the last move you make." Turning, Harry was treated to the sight off a man with a face that looked it had been poorly carved from an old half rotted stump. Gray hair framed his face, and his eyes didn't match. And as Harry watched, his right eye began to spin about, independent of his left.

Harry didn't even react to the threat, staring the man down. After several seconds of awkward silence Harry spoke. "Good job last night leading the cubs away from the fighting. Wouldn't have gone as smoothly if I had to watch out for them and myself."  
"Didn't see you last night, and your not one of ours. Leaves only Death Eaters about. Roll up your sleeves, nice and slow." Harry couldn't help a smirk.

"Oh, like this?" and he flourished his arms and his sleeves rolled themselves up to reveal smooth skin. "Didn't know we were doing a magical aptitude test. Perhaps I should…" and with a flick of his wrist the air in his hand distorted and he held an apple. "There we go, haven't even had breakfast yet." He took a nice sized bight out of the apple and forced himself to swallow. While the older man didn't look the least bit impressed with his flippant attitude, the children seemed shocked and amazed.

"How'd ya do that?" One finally asked. Harry grinned back.  
"Which part? The sleeves or the apple? Doesn't matter, its all the same." He looked left and then right, and using his best stage whisper spoke, "It's magic. But don't tell the neighbors. Once it gets out, everyone wants you doing tricks at their kids birthday parties, making purses with endless gold, or brewing up love potions."

"STOP TALKING!" The gruff man shouted over everything. Harry glared at the man, only to realize that his sunglasses likely made the gesture impossible for the man to see. "You boy, are going to stand there nice and quiet. Weasley, take your charges back to the house."

Continuing to force himself to eat the apple, no matter how much he just wanted to spit out what he had eaten already and throw the fruit away, Harry maintained his calm exterior even as his mine began to spin. "What's your name, or should I just call you Brother Gruff?" The grizzled man gave him a non-too friendly look.  
"Alastor Moody, now who are you?"  
"James Evens."  
"Don't know anyone with the name Evens that's still around and kicking. So why don't you tell me you real name?" His voice dropped a few notches, and Harry was suddenly reminded of his old instructor Malgoth. He narrowed his eyes… he never liked Malgoth. "I don't like your tone. And I am telling you two of my four names. The others are irrelevant, and not ones I fancy answering to."

The old Auror's scowl deepened. "Full names boy! All of 'em! Or I'll see you carted off to Azkaban so fast," Harry didn't let him finish. Moody watched the air shimmer and suddenly the boy was standing even with him, his hand resting on his left shoulder with his arm draped across his upper chest just under his neck. Harry leaned in and whispered into Moody's ear. "I don't take kindly to threats. I'm just looking to contact Remus Lupin. Now, either get helping or get lost. I didn't tear into twelve people last night for you, I did it for the cubs over there," nodding to the group that was now frozen not five yards away, looking like they might bolt at the first sigh of conflict. "No one, and I mean no one, hurts cubs while I'm around to deal with it. Now, you going for the former or the latter of your options?"

Moody's electric blue eye spun to face him, and he let out grunt. "You say Lupin will vouch for you?"  
"Don't know about vouch, but considering that I'm his guest at the moment, and I didn't plan to be out all night, I would really like to get back." Moody nodded.

"Fine, follow me. But any funny business." He warned. Harry gave him a look.

"As long as no one attacks me, I promise not to attack in return. Cross my heart."

The walk back to the Burrow could best be described as tense silence. Ron took up the lead, Harry right behind him, with Moody bringing up the real with the children. As Harry got closer however, he realized that there might be a problem with his promise. The air was absolutely saturated with magic, proving that the house was held together by the mystical energy. It made his skin crawl, and he had to suppress a feral growl. He stopped trying to collect himself, and he felt the whole group halt. "Why did you stop."

This time he couldn't suppress the growl. "A lot of magic in the air, I need a minute to collect myself. Or would you prefer that I lose control?" After getting his blood back under control, he started moving again, and the group continued its march. However, Harry was surprised that as he approached the magic began to thin out considerably. Then it dawned on him.

"Very clever… two sets of wards, an softer outer layer, and a much harder inner layer. Not bad. You make Gruff?" Moody prodded him in the back with his wand, "Not my forte. Keep moving. Kids, go to the sitting room, and you take a seat at the table." He couldn't start a fight, he had given his word. No violence, only threats so far, so he pulled out a chair at dining table and sat. Moody pulled out the one across from him and kept his want trained on him, as he took the seat. "Weasley, go floo Black and see if he can't get Lupin over here." Ron muttered in the affirmative and made off, leaving Harry with a wand pointed at him.

"So… how about a game of twenty questions to pass the time? I'll go first,"  
"No. No games, we're gonna sit here quiet like until you get a pass or I get to hex ya unconscious."

"Well you are definitely starting to remind me of one of my old instructors."  
"Good. They you'll treat me like you treated him." Harry quirked an eyebrow.

"You sure you want me to keep hitting you until I break your bones? I mean, Malgoth was made of stone… so I think it'll be easier with you." Moody didn't look amused.

"Made of stone…"  
"Well yes. Fey do tend to come in all kind of strange forms." At this Moody's eyebrows shot up. "So, that's where you came from eh? The Americas."  
"Just got into the country about two weeks ago."  
"That's funny, haven't had any official travel from the Americas in the last few months."  
"I don't need official travel to get here. International apparition isn't exactly safe for the average wizard, but portkeys do get intercepted along border lines. But you saw what I did out there. I can go anywhere, just so long as I know where I'm going."

"Moody! Put the wand down." Harry turned to see Remus standing in the doorway.  
"Remus! Come to bail old James out? You're a sight for sore eyes!" Moody turned to look at Remus. "You know him?"

Remus nodded in the affirmative. "Yes, son of an old friend. Now put the wand away before you hurt someone." Moody didn't look amused, but slipped his wand back into the holster at his hip. Remus turned to look at Harry. "James, you said you were going to be back in a few hours! Your mother's worried sick."  
"Things got a little complicated. Death Eaters attacked the cubs in the other room. Not letting people get away with that on my watch." Remus got a dark look on his face.

"Did you kill them?"

"Only four of 'em. Rest got away." Remus's look became piercing.

"How many?" Moody looked between the two, some sort of hidden communication was going on between them.

"Two. Couldn't get to one before he bled out, and the other disappeared off to die somewhere. Portkey I think. So, are we going back to where we were staying? Or are me and my mum moving on now that she's up and about?"

Moody kept a close eye on the boy. His flippant attitude was outrageous. 'Only killed four people! I should cart him off to Azkaban.' He thought.

"Don't be a sore loser Moody, just because I got four and you didn't get squat doesn't mean we can't go hunting again sometime." Moody froze. The boy was reading his mind. "You little shit!" Harry looked shocked.

"Fuck. Did I just…" Moody's wand was thrust into his face. "Alright, seems I did. Sorry bout that. Cant always keep my mind to myself."

"Legilimency! Didn't even sense it either! I'm going to cart you off!"  
"Hey, I apologized. Besides, its not legilimency, its mind reading. Just sort of listened in on your surface thoughts. It a reflex action."

Moody thrust his wand even closer to the boy. "I'll have you locked up quicker than you can say constant vigilance boy!" Harry however didn't look amused.  
"Remove your wand from my face, or I'll snap it and use the two pieces as nails to pin you to your cross." The look in his eyes was murderous, and Harry realized that he was loosing control. He was reacting to something… but what? Then it hit him. There was a scent in the air making his blood boil, and it was everywhere. He reached out and grabbed Lupin's arm. "I need to get out of here. Something in the air's not doing me a world of good." Lupin's eyes widened.

"Alright then. You good to take the floo?"  
"Don't care how, just get me out of here."

Remus quickly ushered him out the door and into a sitting room. "Lovely to see you Alastor, I'll be sure to attend the meeting at headquarters later tonight." He pulled Harry towards the fireplace, tossed in a hand full of power and flames became emerald green. "Destination is Black Walk Road."

Harry nodded, stepped in and spoke. In a rush he was off, dozens of locations hearths zipped by, and he stumbled out of the fireplace in a small seemingly deserted cabin. Catching himself on a nearby table he gulped in air and tried to calm his blood. The Beast was raging to be let out, and it was taking all his effort to keep it from simply forcing him to act. It wanted to find the source of that scent. Its need was almost overwhelming. He didn't even realize that Lupin was there until rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Harry… are you alright?"

He didn't trust himself to speak, so he only shook his head.

"Should I go get Lily?"  
He nodded, and forced out a few words. "Need… potion… hurry."

Remus didn't hesitate and disappeared with a soft pop, leaving Harry Potter to curl up in a ball on the floor, and bite down on his hand to keep his mind sharp. The pain would be fleeting and he couldn't afford to lose control. Not now.

AN: I'm trying to take a couple hours a day to devote to this. I still feel that I'm horribly rusty, and not doing this story justice.  
I would like to thank the unnamed guest reviewer for your help. The only time I have to work on this is after I get home from work in the wee hours of the morning. As a result I don't always have the firmest grasp on my mind, and grammar spelling and sentence structure can all suffer as a result.


	4. Chapter Three: Everyone Fights

_**- Chapter Three: Everyone Fights -**_

Harry Potter awoke from a slumber that he hadn't realized he had fallen into. He could still taste the familiar bitterness of his mother's potion, and his mind was still trapped in its haze. "Will he be alright?"

"He hasn't had a reaction like this in almost a year, what set him off?"

"You're avoiding my question."  
"Remus, I don't know if he'll be alright. I need to know what set him off. The last time was midsummer solstice, the Summer Court held a grand melee that went far too wild and he got caught up in it."

"I don't know what set him off. It could have been any number of things."

He tried to speak, but only managed a soft moan. He felt an arm under his head and opened his eyes to look up into his mother's. They were shining with unshed tears. She was worried for him, more so than usual. He tried again, "I'm fine now mum. Magic and smells." She looked confused.

"Smells?"

He fumbled over the words in his head, damn this potion, it made communicating so hard. "Scent… Beast wanted to find it. Stalk it… hunt it…" He gave up talking, it was taking too much effort. Instead, he brushed his mind against hers and sent his memories.

"Are you sure your alright?" she asked. He nodded and looked up at her questioningly. "It's almost five. Remus says that the Order has a meeting in a couple hours, would you be willing to go?" He brushed his mind against hers, asking the question. "We have to tell them that we're here son. We don't have to be completely truthful about who we are… but we can't do this without allies."

"Don't… allies…weak…"

The elder werewolf's voice interrupted him. "Harry. This is a war. You can't fight it all on your own."

Calling on his magic he began to burn off the potion. The sensation was uncomfortable, and would leave him drained, but he needed his wits about him. "I can… and I will. He is my prey. Not yours!" Remus looked shocked at the sudden outburst.

"Feeling better then." Harry glared up at him.

"Obviously." He turned to look at Lily. "Must we? It's unseemly and weakness. We can do this alone."

Lily gave her son a patronizing smile. "Oh yes. I'll just have you go traipsing off across the known world searching for trinkets while Death Eaters murder innocent children in their beds." Harry growled at her and pushed himself to his feet.

"Not fair mother."

"Life isn't fair. You and I know that better than most. Now, will you be sulking, or joining us for the meeting?"

- Warrior: En Garde -

"I believe that closes out all of our old business?" Nods and general affirmations was what Albus Dumbledore received in return. "Very well. Is there any new business?" Fred Weasley gave him a short wave. "Ah, Mr Weasley."

"Couple of new things we've managed to cook up for the Order Sir. Just wondering who we should deliver it all to so they can get some field testing on em."

"If you could just have them delivered to the usual spot, I'll see to it. Anything else?"

"Neville been itching to get out into the field again Sir. It's becoming a bit difficult to keep him tabs on him. Might I suggest an excursion somewhere overseas? Could be good for the boy."  
"Kingsley, we've talked about this. It's simply not safe for Mr Longbottom to be traveling at this point. Yes Remus?"

Remus detached himself from the section of the wall in the kitchen of number twelve Grimmauld Place. "I may have found a couple of people that might make good members for the Order." The room filled up with whispers, and Remus couldn't help but feel a little awkward over it all.

"New members you say? Have you introduced them to anyone else?"  
"I haven't had the chance Sir. They only arrived in the country two weeks ago, and one of them was indisposed until yesterday. However, Alastor did meet the other." Giving a nod to the old Auror. Moody gave a fierce glare back.  
"Oh I met him alright. Boy just staked up to the Burrow and acted as though he should be given free reign of the place." Dumbledore looked back at Remus with a questioning gaze.  
"Not quite. He asked if he could use the floo to try to get a hold of me. He went out the night before and apparently got turned around and lost."  
"The boy's also from the Americas. I'll admit he made quite the display of wandless magic Albus, but I don't trust him. There was something wrong with his eyes, but I couldn't quite tell what."

"Oh?"

"He's got a strong aura, couldn't get a clear look past all the magic he was exuding." Remus stepped in there. "Now, I'll admit that James isn't exactly normal. But his adopted mother is a fey. A little oddness is natural in that."

Now he had people's attention. "A fey scion? And by you implication I would say that it's him and his mother that's here?" Remus gave Agusta Longbottom a quick nod.

"Yes, Courtless to boot. I've been in correspondence with them for some time, and James expressed an interest in helping. Where James goes, Lilith follows . And Albus, she gave me this," reaching into his pocket he retrieved the small wooden case and set it on the table removing the lid. Inside were three things. A vial of blood, a clear gemstone that pulsed ever so gently with an inner radiance, and a sealed potion vial. Dumbledore new the significance of two of the items. A vial of her blood and a soul stone. She was giving Dumbledore significant power over her with these two items. Enough that if she committed an act of betrayal, he could kill her… or worse. Fey didn't just hand over items like this for fun. It was a sign of trust, that she was offering to be a servant for him and his cause. To accept was a binding fey contract.

"What is the potion Remus?"

"She wouldn't tell me Sir, said to have someone examine it… the Half-Blood Prince? She said that you would know." Dumbledore stared back unknowing. But a cough from Severus Snape caught his attention.  
"If this fey can't tell us more than a vague title or nickname, let me see it. I'll take it and analyze it. If I leave now, I should be able to puzzle it out by morning."

"Don't you have classes to teach tomorrow?" Snape gave Hermione a withering look.

"I believe I do, but a single nights sleep hasn't killed anyone yet Granger. I think I can handle it." Stalking forward, he retrieved the potion vile and strode out of the room.

Albus Dumbledore simply sighed and shook his head. "Well then. Anything else?" No one spoke up. "Alright then, guess I'll have to go meet our mysterious fey maiden. Remus?" The werewolf nodded and led the way out of the kitchen.

- Warrior: En Garde -

Ginny Weasley knew the pub very well, it was her safe haven from the outside world. When things went wrong at home, she had a routine. She would get her travel bag, floo over to Grimmauld Place, and then when afternoon rolled around, come and stay most of the night. The owner had put the place together almost two hundred years ago, and continued to stand a silent vigil and help where he could. The Emerald Scribe was a place that anyone could come to, so long as they were in the know about the supernatural. Fey, wizards, vampires, and so many others all had a place here. So long as you followed the rules, took disputes that were quick becoming fights outside, you were welcome. Ginny had her own booth, tucked back into a dark corner, and she liked it that way. No one bothered her. She was the bird with blood red hair who only came in once every couple of weeks.

Unfortunately tonight she was running late. The Order meeting had run longer than she had expected, and then her mother had wanted to talk to her. They'd had another row, and she had stormed out into the rain. So now here she was… wet, cold, angry, tired, and standing glaring at the man who had claimed her booth.

"Move your arse before I make you move it." The man glanced up from his fish and chips, took one look at her and replied very smoothly. "Sorry, but I'm comfortable where I am."

If it had been any other night, she might have taken the insult in stride. If it had been any other night, she might have explained the situation calmly and rationally. But it wasn't any other night, and she quite frankly wasn't in the mood to deal with this mans petulance. So, she first calmly turned to the bar and made sure that the owner, Flint, saw her. "Thomas, I'm really sorry about what I am about to do." He was quick to respond, "Girl don't you," she didn't let him finish.

A quick flick of her want sent the unknown man flying across the room to land among other assorted gentlemen who were busy entertaining themselves with the billiards. Smirking to herself she turned… and found him still sitting eating with a bemused expression.

"Splendid attempt. I'll give you an A for effort. But for actual performance," he finished his food and swallowed the last of his drink. "Well… lets see how you do with this." And then the table was flying at her… the solid mahogany table flew through the air as though a giant had just decided to have a tea party and gotten peevish. Quickly dodging to the side, she only realized at the last second that he was flying at her as well. They landed in a pile of limbs, and seconds later several others, presumably the billiards players were joining the fray.

As the two of them wrestled on the ground, she realized quite quickly that she was outclassed. The man quickly captured a wrist and pinned it, and then struck several points sending fire through her left side. She managed to overcome the sensation and rolled, attempting to pin him. However, he reacted with the grace of a well experienced fighter and martial artist. He leveraged his legs and sent her flying back. As she stumbled and tried not to fall back down, she realized that the whole pub had broken out in a vicious melee. She quickly spotted the bar and dove behind it landing between Thomas and Vincent.

"Just great Weasley! You just had to set em off didn't ya?!"

"What did I do?!" She yelled back at him.

"I've had twenty some odd travelers hanging out here for the whole damn day! Each and every one of em itching for a fight. And you just had to go and set one off!" Another person flew over the bar and landed next to Vincent, who glanced over at the man then soundly hit him across the head with a barrel tap. Thomas just stared at him.

"What? He was the one who kept ordering expensive and not tipping. Was also cheating at the billiards." That seemed to somewhat mollify Thomas, who turned back to look at Ginny. "You realize that you paying for all the damages?"

She stared at him, and when she grinned back his face paled. "Oh Lord above what have I done…" Knowing that she was now on the hook for repairs left her feeling liberated. So she promptly jumped back over the bar and let loose a battle cry before joining the wild bar brawl.

Back behind the bar, Vincent turned and looked at Thomas. "You do realize that now the bar's going to be at least twice as demolished?"  
"I realize that now yes."  
"Are you really going to make her pay this time?"

"Did you see the look on her face when she came in? I'm writing this off as an act of God. Better her take out her frustrations on random strangers from far away lands then the regulars. Also better her controlled violence then something setting her off and the bar catching fire again."  
Vincent retrieved two bottles and quickly uncapped them. "I can drink to that."

- Warrior: En Garde -

Several hours, a few knocked out foreigners, a black eye, busted lip, and threats to send the bill to her later, Ginny Weasley marched back into twelve Grimmauld place in a much better mood than when she had left. Shouldering the front door closed in the driving wind and rain, she turned her attention to the voices drifting down the hall.

"You are absolutely certain," an unknown woman, "I wouldn't want to intrude on the home of a noble house or its heir. My son and I can easily find other accommodations."  
She recognized Sirius as he replied, "No, its no bother. Only places safer are Hogwarts and the Ministry. And you can't very well stay there. Besides, I don't trust you. So you're going to stay where I can keep an eye on you."

"I assure you that neither my son nor I intend you any harm."  
This time she recognized Remus's voice. "Lilith, he wont be reasoned with like this. Best to just let him have his way. When will James be back?"

"That would be hard to say… he's likely scouting, getting to know the terrain for any battles that might break out."  
"Battles! Here?! HA!"

The door came open behind her, letting the wind and rain pour in around a cloaked figure. Turning Ginny watched as the figure simply pushed the door closed with one hand, and removed his cloak to hand on one of the pegs next to the door. He was tall and looked athletic from what she could tell, fair skinned with short cropped black hair. But the most stunning feature was his eyes, they shined a shade of green somewhere between emeralds and jade. Wait… they were literally shining, reflecting the meager light in the hall. Then she picked up a scent over the wind and rain… and she went stock still. She didn't recognize it personally, but her instincts told her that he was a predator. No… he was the Predator. She saw his reaction back, his eyes shifted and changed becoming golden and she felt more than heard the rumble of a growl. She didn't even think, reacting on instinct she growled right back. Then she dove forward, feeling her magic flare and her flesh ripple.

But he was so much faster.

She had only just left the floor when he was slamming into her and pushing her back. They tumbled down the hall, snapping at each other, clawing wherever they could. When they slammed into an end table, they sprung apart and she got her first look at him. He was tall, maybe a meter and a half at the shoulder, with thick midnight black fur. His eyes were amber with flecks of that same green from before. He was bigger than her… but that wasn't the point. She wasn't prey, and after tonight he would know that. They dove at each other and began to spring about the room, knocking over anything that was in their way. She pushed herself to dodge his attacks, and watched as his fangs latched into the leg of one of the chairs and the thing cracked under the force of his bite. 'He's trying to kill me!' She realized.

So she dove at him with renewed vigor, not holding back in the slightest. Her own jaws snapped down on his leg before he could react. She felt her teeth sink to his bone, his blood filling her muzzle and dripping onto her face. She looked up and saw several ragged wounds down his side. Ones that she knew she hadn't caused.

Harry looked down at his prey. It was smaller than him, only slightly but smaller none the less. Grey white fur that would be most at home in the artic, and piercing amber eyes flecked with brown, and filled with confusion. He realized that female, if her scent was anything to go by, was staring at the ragged wounds from his earlier fight. He hadn't wanted to expend the energy to expedite their recovery, he might need said energy if he was ambushed again. But the wounds were slowing him, and he was beginning to feel his strength ebb as he continued to bleed from his old and new wounds. But he had enough strength to finish this creature off. So he reared his head back and slammed his head against hers.

Her grip went slack and she tumbled to the ground, dazed from the blow. And suddenly he was over her, his fangs going for her throat, and she closed her eyes waiting for deaths embrace. But after several tense moments it never came, so she opened her eyes. He was standing over her his teeth ready to clamp down and end her life. But he seemed to be hesitating. The sound of footsteps was what broke her reverie, and suddenly the unknown wolf was lifted and slammed into the nearest wall. He barked in surprise and pain, and she realized that he had just had his wounded side rather harshly treated. She reacted on pure instinct, it didn't matter that they had been fighting not ten seconds before, no one was allowed to hurt him while she was there. She turned and leapt at the source of the sound, fangs bared, and ready to kill. Ginny Weasley caught a glimpse of scaly reptilian skin, a crown of spines, and piercing red eyes before she was slammed rather harshly into the floor by an invisible force.

Looking up, she realized that the creature was the one responsible. One hand was pointed at her and was pushing down, straining against some invisible force. The other, was thrust where her attacker was pinned to the wall, similarly occupied. When it spoke, she recognized the female voice from earlier. "If either of you gentlemen would be so kind as to restrain the one on the floor, I will do the same for my son." Ginny reigned herself back and brought her wild instincts under control. Then, she forced herself to change back. The second she could she glared at the… woman and said, rather harshly, "Let him go! You're hurting him!"

The woman looked clearly bemused at her demand. "If you would prefer I could let him kill you. It would be considered rather bad form thou. And I am fairly certain that Dumbledore would punish us rather harshly for killing one so young." Ginny didn't know why, but she became even more furious. All the energy that she had burned off in the brawl earlier had come back with a vengeance, and her blood was like fire in her veins. She pushed against the woman with her magic, redoubling her efforts. Shock registered across the reptilian face and she appeared to be straining. And then, with an effort of will Ginny called up even more of her power. The wooden floor splintered around her, and the woman was physically pushed back by the raw magical force that Ginny had called up. Her flight slammed her into Sirius, whom Ginny hadn't even registered, and the both of them ended their flight somewhere down the hall.

But the thump and ragged breathing of the other wolf was all that mattered to Ginny. She bolted across the room, retrieving her wand in the process, and positioned herself between him and the hall. After almost a minute a white cloth was thrown into the room, and she heard Remus speak. "Ginny… may I please come in?"

She didn't respond, but he peeked around the corner. "Ginny?"  
Her breathing was ragged, she hadn't ever tried to use that much power before, and it was physically exhausting. "He needs help… was hurt when he came in. We had a," she searched for the right words, "bad reaction to each other." He raised his hands and approached. But when he about two arms lengths away, the figure she was leaning against let loose a snarl and bared his fangs, causing the werewolf to instantly retreat.

"Shut your mouth you petulant child." Ginny hadn't even realized that the woman had entered the room, let alone that she was now next to her. She felt the yelp that he held in when the woman's hands brushed the jagged wounds down his side. "What happened?" Silence. "Your certain?" He continued to stare at Remus. "It was inevitable. We'll just have to be more careful from now on." She turned and looked at Sirius as he stumbled back into the room. "Where will my son be staying?" Sirius stared blankly at her for several seconds before it seemed to register what she had asked. "Third floor… the rooms on the left are for the two of you."

"Thank you." As she spoke she rose to her feet, and Ginny felt the unknown wolf rise as well. She noticed the pronounced limp as he walked away and instantly felt regret for what she had done. The woman lingered at the bottom of the stairs. "Miss…"  
"Ginny Weasley."

"Miss Weasley. I would appreciate it if you would refrain from injuring my son again. James might not mind the occasional injury, but if you hurt my son again," she turned and Ginny saw pure malice in the woman's eyes, "I will kill you. I will cut our your heart in front of the person you care about most, and then I will burn your home to the ground, and dance on the graves of your family." And with that the woman vanished up the stairs.

Remus righted one of the chairs and slumped down into it. "Well… that could have gone better."

AN: I had to take a couple days for personal reasons. I will be posting another chapter later this evening / early tomorrow morning, as well as another chapter tomorrow.  
Also, I will be posting some of my production notes with each of the following chapters. These notes don't cover anything specifically pertaining to the plot, however they are notes that help explain the world the story is taking place in. While some of the info will be covered in the story, most of it will only be vaguely referenced. If you do not wish to know any of this, do not go any further.

- WARNING: PRODUCTION NOTES -

The general political makeup of the world as it is now can be directly traced back to the early fifteen hundreds and the Treaty of Innsbruck. The dissolution of the Fey Court with the death of King Obranax and the signing of the subsequent treaty is considered considered turning point between the classical and modern Wizarding World. The treaty solidified relations between the two major powers of the era, The Ministries of the Wizarding World and the Great Courts of the East. In the latter half of the century, the Wizarding World would prove its power yet again with the destruction of one of the oldest threats of all of the races the world as seen. The Battle of Roanoke and the destruction of the Abaddon (one of only three creatures listed in modern ministry records as xxxxxx), showed that the Wizarding World was the power of the era, and many wizards believed that given several more centuries, even the Eastern Courts would successfully integrate. Leaving wizards as the undisputed rulers of the magical world. However, this assumption was for naught, when in 1752, the remnants of the Fey Court consolidated their forces beyond the borders of the current Ministries or Eastern Courts in the New World. Less than a decade later, King Alduren, led his armies into battle against an ancient Abaddon who had begun to gather creatures to its heel in an attempt to destroy the order of the world in its infancy. In the subsequent battle, King Alduren slew the beast in single combat, and cemented the New World as the home of the new Fey Courts.


	5. Chapter Four: Alpha

_**- Chapter Four: Alpha -**_

The sky was dark with heavy clouds, threatening to drench London again without notice, rhyme, or reason. But still Alva waited. The little dewdrop pixy was camped out under a makeshift shelter with half a dozen others, keeping watch on the patch of earth that she knew that they couldn't enter or see, but knew was there. She had followed the target last night to its lair last night, and now was waiting for it to show itself. It was wet, and the wind made it unnaturally cold, but she couldn't leave her post. No matter how good a break would have been…

"HAWKEYE ALVA WHAT DO YOU SEE?!"

Alva turned to her left and saw the other pixie, slightly taller and dressed in armor scavenged from children's toys. Tovro was the leader of their little band of mercenaries, he was also stuck up and full of himself. He served the Winter Lady with the rabid fervor of an actual fey of Winter. In the six months that she had served in the company, she had grown to despise him, but she wasn't really ready to cross the Winter Lady. But that was why she had volunteered for this mission. She hated Tovro… but if there really was a God Eater… she would serve Tovro up on a platter and free not just herself, but the rest of the company as well.

"Nothing… the same as ten minutes ago. And ten minutes before that… and ten minutes before that…"  
"HE HAS TO COME OUT SOMETIME! KEEP YOU EYES PEELED! PAROL SQUAD! LETS MOVE OUT!"

With the hum of wings, Tovro and four others took flight quickly disappearing from sight. Lax came and sat by her then. "You really think that…" He hesitated to ask the question aloud. "Yes. I would rather be free than follow that… blowhard anymore. Look at us… everything is rules… everything is frozen in winter ice. It doesn't matter if its Summer or Autumn. Everyone only wears masks, and bows and is respectful to the big, but cruel to the small. My grand-grand-grand-grand-grandmamma used to tell me stories about good King Obranax. He was kind, treated everyone with respect. Then the sorcerers grew jealous of his power, they wanted his secrets and turned their wizards on everyone. Then the wizards turned on them and now the good King is dead and so are the sorcerers."

"Then what we do? We can't get in…" She turned to him and grinned. Then reached into her satchel, and pulled out a rolled up bit of parchment. "But we can! One of the wizards didn't realize that I snatched this up last night." Unrolling it, Lax looked at it and then back at her. "It's just a name…"

"Try looking for the house now." When he turned to look, his eyes widened and she knew that he saw it too. "Why didn't you go?"

"Had to wait for the snack to leave." Standing up she reached out a hand, and pulled him to his feet. "Now… lets go." And with that the two buzzed off towards the now revealed number twelve Grimmauld Place.

- Warrior: En Garde -

Breakfast at Grimmauld Place was a tension filled affair, everyone present avoided talking as much as possible to prevent setting the whole situation ablaze. But even so, Ginny couldn't help but glare across the table at the woman she now knew as Lilith. She hadn't seen her son James yet today, but she wanted to apologize for how she had acted. But Lilith was apparently having none of it. The she dragon had told her that James would be recuperating in bed for the day, and when Ginny had asked if she could see him to apologize, Lilith had given her a murderous look accompanied by, "I think you've done quite enough."

Now, both women were staring each other down across the table. Breakfast had been over for at least an hour, but neither of the men present wanted to attempt to clear the table less they set one of the two off. And likewise, neither woman would leave until the other left. So they all sat, Sirius attempting to amuse himself, Remus reading, and the two women glaring.

This was the scene that greeted Tonks and Snape as they arrived.  
"Um… Are we interrupting something?" Questioned Tonks.

Neither woman broke the stare, but Ginny answered. "No. Nothing at all. Lilith here was extolling the virtues of brutal violence against people's families." If glares could kill, then Ginny would have been dead a thousand times over.  
"I merely informed you of what would happen if you injured my son again."  
"And I told you that it was a reaction! He attacked me just like I attacked him. We're both at fault, but I'm willing to apologize and forget the whole thing. But you seem intent on holding a grudge."  
"You injured my son! That wound went straight to the bone!"

Remus quickly rose and pushed the others out of the room. "Sirius, you may want to call Dumbledore. Severus, what are you doing here?"

"I needed to confirm something with our guest in the other room."

As the shouting intensified, Remus heard the quiet footsteps descending the stairs. Looking up, he saw James had come down. He didn't look particularly well, his skin was pale and Remus could tell he was likely running a fever. But he didn't show any signs of pain or discomfort. Looking into Remus's eyes he asked quietly. "Is my mother causing problems?"

Sirius got a glint in his eye. "You must be joking." The boy looked at the older man. "Aren't you a little old to be trying to get to make awful puns?"

Sirius sputtered, "How did you,"  
"You name is Sirius. My mother raised me better than to fall into such obvious traps. You try living among the fey for over ten years. See how good you get at seeing traps in words." Then he pushed through the group and into the kitchen.

"How dare you! You insolent wench!"  
"How dare you, you overgrown purse!"

"Ladies."

Both women froze. Turning, they saw him standing at the head of the table. "James, you shouldn't be out of bed! Winter Ice isn't something so trivial that," he waved a hand and cut her off. "Mother, I can't simply lay about, especially without company."

"James," his fist collided with the table, cracking the wood and leaving them all in a deafening silence. "No mother! You followed me here, not the other way around. I don't need a keeper who locks me up when I get a few scratches! I'm here to fight a war, not play games. If you can't stand that fact, then leave."

Lilith was stunned. Her son hadn't raised his voice to her in years… something was disrupting all the hard work she had put into conditioning the boy. And that was beyond dangerous. James turned to look at Ginny. "I'm sorry about last night. I was ambushed while returning and,"  
"There's no need for you to apologize. I'm just as much at fault for what happened. How about we just let bygones be bygones and get to know each other properly." She extended her hand. "Ginny Weasley."

"James Evens." As her hand touched his a sensation passed up Ginny's arm, the tingling sensation that only extremely powerful wizards, another therianthrope, or a few others could cause, as raw magic contacted raw magic. He didn't show a reaction.

"Miss Weasley, would you care to join me as a companion for the day? I could use the company of someone closer to my age while I recuperate." Ginny hesitated before responding. "Sure. But I might have to leave later."

"That's fine, I just wanted to sit and talk with you for a bit." And then he was slipping out of the room. "Come up when you can." Looking at Lilith, Ginny saw the calculating look in her eyes, the same kind that Hermione got when she had a problem to solve. She quickly slipped after him.

He had already slipped back into his bed by the time she arrived at his room, and he gestured to a comfortable looking chair next to the bed. "Please, sit."

"Thank you." She was nervous. More nervous then she really should have been, and she realized quite quickly that she was nervous because of him. As she looked up at him she saw that the calm face he had shown downstairs was a mask. He looked even paler then he had before, and she could clearly see the sheet of sweat across his face, which was currently locked in a grimace. He flashed her a quick smile.

"I'm really sorry about this. Winter Ice isn't something that is very pleasant to experience."  
"I don't know what that is, to be honest." She replied.

"It's a sort of combination of a poison and a curse. The Winter Court's assassins use it. If you don't know how to treat it or get to the wounds quickly enough, they become infected. It acts like frostbite. Once it sets in, the only way to remove it is to cut out the cursed tissue." Her eyes widened and she was about to ask when he answered. "No. My wounds were treated in time. But we didn't get to it in time to stop it impeding my ability to recover."

They sat silent for several minutes before she asked. "So… I don't want to sound rude," he nodded for her to continue, "But I've known a few other therianthropes before. Even a few predators. What happened last night… it wasn't normal. You wanted to kill me. I saw the look in your eyes. You didn't see a fellow predator, you saw prey. So, I have to ask… why did you stop?"

He looked away avoiding her gaze. "I attacked you because I was already wounded. I was barley in control of myself at the time. But to be honest… I don't know why I stopped." He sighed, and kept his eyes on the comforter. "I'm not trained to hesitate. I've honed my instincts to destroy any threat, and then ask for forgiveness later. Necessity when living among the Courts. Hesitation is a weakness, and a weakness will be exploited."  
"But after your mother separated us… you let me near you. You didn't let Remus, and you know him. You didn't know me from some Tom, Dick, or Harry. There's got to be a reason."

"Why did you attack my mother?"

Now it was her turn to avert her eyes. "She was hurting you."  
"And? That isn't enough. We had just fought, you were just trying to kill me to save your own life. Why turn to fight someone who was helping you?" Pondering the situation, she honestly didn't know why she had reacted like that. It was just… instinct. She had simply reacted without thinking.

"Isn't it cute?"

"Hush! They'll hear you!"

James and Ginny's heads snapped to the desk across the room. James raised his voice, "Come out. We've already heard you." Then suddenly Ginny saw two little figures perched on the desk. They couldn't have been more then six inches tall, and looked to be wearing cloths fashioned from discarded children's toys, as well as leaves and possibly bark. Their skin was a deep forest green, and while one's hair stuck out in every direction as though it had been caught in an explosion, the other was completely bald. Their eyes were pitched black, though Ginny though she could make out faint rings of color. "Now see what you've done." Said the bald one, who promptly brought its fist into the other's head.

"But Alva! They're just so cute… I couldn't help it. Look at em!"

"You not helping!" Said Alva, striking her companion again.

James had had enough thou. "Both of you! Get over here." And he pointed next to him on the bed. The two figures zipped through the air and landed next to him.  
"What…" Ginny started.

"Pixies. Dewdrop pixies to be precise. And," he leaned closer, "part of the Winter Riders, yes?" Alva nodded, suddenly realizing that maybe it wasn't the best idea to have come here. "So. Why is a mercenary company in the service of Winter here?"

Alva didn't hesitate to answer this time. "We've come to traitor."

Ginny was confused. "Wait… you've come to what?"

James didn't stop looking at the two pixies. "They're here to switch sides. And whom then, would you be swearing you service to?"

"To you great one!" And then Alva drug her companion into a deep bow.

"Why are we bowing?" he asked.

"Idiot! You want him to eat you Lax?!" Lax suddenly realized he might be in mortal peril, and threw himself down. "Please mighty God Eater! Don't eat me! I be good! Besides I'm all scrawny and chewy. And I don't taste good either!"

Ginny couldn't help her giggle, but when she looked at James, he looked more frightened than amused. "You… I…" he stumbled over several more words, but couldn't seem to figure out what to say. His eyes roamed frantically around the room, and Ginny turned to try to call for help. Suddenly a presence slammed into her mind, almost driving her to the floor. Ginny gathered her mind and tried to clear it, making it impossible for the person to see anything, but suddenly foreign images and sensations flowed into her head. Confusion, anger, terror.

She was standing in a pit in the middle of a forest, blood dripping from her face, and the dead body of someone she had considered a friend beneath her. And then she was holding a woman with red hair against a wall, choking the life from the person who was to blame from all of her pain. Then she was standing over a gray and white wolf, ready to tear its throat out, when she stopped. She knew, instinctively, that this was someone who she had been looking for all her life. The wolf below her was powerful, strong enough to be an equal.

And suddenly Ginny was back in the chair with Sirius shaking her. "Ginny!"

She slapped his hands away. "I'm fine Sirius. What happened?"

"Fine my arse! You screamed and when we got up here James looked like he was having some sort of fit, and you had gone rigid but wouldn't respond."

Lilith's voice broke into the conversation. "He was inside your head, wasn't he?"

Ginny turned and saw that Lilith was curled up on the bed, holding her son who was continuing shaking uncontrollably and whimpering. "I… I think so."

Lilith's eyes closed and she let out a soft pained sigh. "Damn it."

Remus, sitting at the end of the bed asked quietly, "Lilith… what's going on?"  
The dragoness turned to look at the werewolf. "Everything that I've built over the last twenty years is coming crumbling down. Remus…" she looked at both Sirius and Ginny. Remus saw the look. "Lilith… I know that you don't trust many people. But you've got to open up a little. Sirius was always…" he trailed off.

Sirius looked between the two, confused. "Moony… what's going on?"  
Lilly desperately wanted to cry. But even he she could have allowed herself the luxury, she was physically incapable now. She had spent almost fifteen years conditioning her son. He wasn't supposed to raise his voice to her. He wasn't supposed to talk back. He wasn't supposed hesitate. He wasn't supposed to loose control. And he was only supposed to go into her mind. She went through her memories, sifting trying to find something that would make everything come together. Then it clicked. She looked at the girl in the chair, and realized exactly what was happening. "God almighty… Remus…" she turned to look him in the eye. "What is it?"

She tried, damn it she tried. But the shock was too much. No wonder all the conditioning was breaking down. She could only stare at the source of her anguish. Remus followed her gaze to Ginny, who still seemed to be in shock herself.

"Excuse me…" came a quiet voice. Remus, Sirius, and Ginny looked up to find one of the pixies peeking out from atop the bed. "Um… that is… will the master and the mistress be alright?" Remus stared at the pixie. "You can talk." Suddenly the little pixie was right in front of Remus's nose. "OF COURSE I CAN TALK! WHAT KIND OF STUPID HEAD ARE YOU!"

Remus jerked back as the little figure swung its fist at his face. "It just that, I've never met a pixie that can talk."  
"OH! So just because you meets one pixie that can't talk, you thinks that all pixies are stupid dumb dumbs! Well I met a human once who couldn't talk! All it could do was cry and cry and cry. But you don't see me saying that you can't talk!" His face was flushed a dark green and he had his fists on his hips.

The pixie forced Lily's brain to start moving again. "Wait, Master and Mistress? Who are you?"

The little pixie seemed to remember where he was and let out something halfway between a gasp and a squeak. But before he could fly away, Alva tackled him to the bed. "Oh no you don't!" She looked up at Lily and bowed her head. "We are Alva and Lax. We have come to traitor to the God Eater and his chosen."

Lily continued to stare at the little pixies, clearly at a loss for words. Sirius broke the silence. "God eater?"

The little fey looked at Sirius like he was crazy. "It's God Eater, and is you blind?"  
"Lax! Be quiet!" Shouted Alva as she clubbed him in the side.

"No, let him answer!" The little fey glared up at Sirius.

"We no talking to you! You is a smelly wizard!" Lax received another fist to the ribs for his sentiments.

Ginny couldn't help but giggle at the antics of the little pixies, which drew a stern glare from Lily. "You think this is funny? You have no idea what's going on!"  
Ginny turned to glare right back. "So two dewdrop pixies want to be his servants, big deal." Lily's hand shot up, but before she could gather any power behind it, everyone froze hearing the deep base of James's growl. Alva quickly positioned herself on Ginny's shoulder, whispering into her ear.

"Do you know what is happening?" Ginny gave her a quick glance and shook her head.

The little fey sighed, "He is choosing you. Maybe he not even realize, but under all the pesky thoughts… he choosing you. You're a wolf yes? Then you understand. He is Alpha. The Alpha. He is destroyer of civilizations, devourer of souls, and eater of gods. Everyone hates him. But he is special. My grand-grand-grand-grand-grandmamma was friends with Good King long ago. Good King saw the future. Good King said that an Eater would come. He would be kind, not cruel, and hold the fate of the world in his hands."

Sirius looked incredulously at her. "I'm not deaf. What do you mean…" His eyes widened. "He's an Abaddon."

Alva's gaze locked him on the spot. "That a horrible name! How dare you call Master Harry a demon!" And suddenly she was on him, leaving Sirius ducking and weaving his head as one of the little folk attempted to do him bodily harm.

"Alva! We not supposed to say that name!" The movement stopped, and Alva's hands shot to her mouth.

"OH! Stupid, stupid, stupid Alva! Letting her mouth run off!"

Sirius's hands shot up in a sign of surrender. "Wait… Harry. I thought his name was James."

Lily sighed. She couldn't hide it for much longer. Sirius wasn't the sharpest tack in the box, but he was clever enough. "My son's name… is Harry James Evens… but when he was born our last name was Potter." Sirius looked up at the woman on the bed with the piercing green eyes. "Potter." The gears in his head took a few seconds to turn, and realization spread across his face.

"Lily?"

Ginny looked between the two of them. "Wait… Lily Potter? The Lily Potter!"

Lily averted her gaze. "One and the same."  
"But, you're supposed to be dead."  
"Well when someone fakes their death, it doesn't work if people know that they're alive."

Sirius gestured at her. "But… what happened?"  
"Harry was going to come here. I had to follow, I had to keep him… balanced. Under control. I broke a fey contract… this is the consequence."

They sat in silence for several minutes, the weight of everything settling in. Then Ginny asked the question on her mind. "What's wrong with him?"

Lily kept her gaze down. "I've been conditioning Harry most of his life… ever since I realized what he was. They're so rare… there isn't a lot of information on them except in the Department of Mysteries. So I resorted to conditioning. He's supposed to be afraid of me, deep down. See me as a greater threat than himself. It's the only way to keep his Beast in line. He tried to kill me once… the only thing that stopped him was all the conditioning. But right now… he can't process it all. One of the things he's most afraid of is people following him. Power corrupts… and it's in his nature to attract power."  
"But… he's going to kill the evil King. It has been seen! He will lead us all into paradise! He… he… he… he is good!"

The room lapsed back into a foreboding silence.

AN: Before anything else, I would like to thank Nour Potter for their review. Not much to say other than that.

- WARNING: PRODUCTION NOTES -

The makeup of the modern Fey Courts is almost nothing like the old Fey Court under King Obranax or his lineage. The old Fey Court functioned much like a traditional monarchy. The modern Fey Courts function as such, after a fashion. The current Fey King Alduren encourages a society where the strongest survive. That is not to say that pure martial might is what the King sees as most important. On the contrary, each of the Fey are sorted into five separate categories, or Courts. The Court of Spring is a place where the social thrive, its members feeding and feeding on human greed. Summer holds a contemporary places as the Court of Warriors, where martial strength is all that matters. Autumn holds the mind in highest regard, and this court sows fear and reaps the greatest sorcerers. Winter is a cold place, where the strong survive and the weak perish. Winter seeks cunning as much as raw strength, and molds its courtiers into vicious daggers to be plunged into vital points. The Court-less are not, technically a Court, but their numbers are by far the greatest. Unaligned Fey, the Court-less pay homage to King Alduren, but function outside of the strict rules and structures of his Courts. The Courts are vicious, and do no courtier calls another friend. The King does not encourage friendship, and those who cannot let go of attachments are not welcome, and has been known to pit friend against friend in fights to the death. The winner lives, the looser dies, and if they will not fight, then both are slain. The territory controlled by the Fey Courts spans most of what is known as Canada, as well as most of the northwestern United States. While the Fey once controlled all of the North American continent, the annexation of much of the eastern North American coast by the Wizarding World as frontier land during the early ages of expansion, keeps them confined mostly to the western half of the continent. And as recently as the 1960's, Mexico much of the American South West has come under the control of several Vampire Clans. These Clans, who refer to themselves as The Kindred, have managed to push Fey influence as far north as northern Colorado and Southern Nebraska.


	6. Chapter Five: Light at the End

_**- Chapter Five: Light at the End of the Tunnel -**_

Luna Lovegood was sitting on a bench looking out at a city she had never seen before. She didn't know how she had gotten there, but that hardly mattered didn't it. What was more interesting was the man sitting next to her. He didn't seem that old, maybe in his early fifties. Pale skinned and dark haired, his features were sunken, not over unnaturally so, but they did lend him a corpse like air.

His voice had a hollow rasp to it, that sent shivers down her spine. "I asked you a question Miss Lovegood. Where are we?"

"I don't know Sir."

"Don't think. Just respond. Now, where are we?"

Looking around, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Sydney Australia."

The man smiled. "Very good. Now, another question, what is the date?"

Again, she didn't think, just spoke. "November the eighth, two thousand and two."

"Again, very good. And one last question, what is going to happen here?"  
Images flashed through her mind, and she choked back a sob. "No… I don't want to say."

He looked are her, his eyes pitiless. "Speak girl. You'll be here until you say it."  
"NO! I wont. If I don't say it, then it can't happen."

The man chuckled. "Just because you don't want something to happen doesn't mean you can stop it. It just means that you get to sit here. I had one man once… sat for seven centuries before he finally faced facts. We'll just keep sitting here in this moment, until you come around."

She knew he was right. They had done this before, she had waited several weeks once. Eventually she just wanted to go home. So she broke down and spoke. "Everyone dies… the city vanishes into a tiny star… and everything changes."

He didn't smile, or show any emotion at all. "Very good."  
And then in the distance, a flash of light. She saw the expanding front, the distortion in the air. It passed over buildings and people alike, and then they simply came apart. It became nothing but dust… and as the distortion approached, the man spoke again.

"This is the last time we will meet, Miss Lovegood, until your time is up. This is the last warning you get. You've saved some lives… condemned others… But know that this event will happen. No matter what you do, the city will be destroyed. It's a turning point, a juncture for infinite possibility. And that is where the next part of the journey begins." He turned and held out a hand. "It's been a pleasure."  
She took his hand in hers, and as the force passed over them, Luna Lovegood flew apart and became one with the universe.

Then she was awake in her bed, staring up at the ceiling of her flat. And for the first time, in a long time, Luna Lovegood knew that she was actually awake. That all of this was the real world. And she wept tears of joy. For the first time… in such a very long time, she was free.

- Warrior: En Garde -

The last several days had been very tense at Grimmauld Place. Lily's revelations had hit everyone but Remus hard, and as a result the inhabitants of the ancestral Black home had been slow to recover. However that didn't even compare to Ginny's days. She spent her time at Harry's bedside. When Lily had tried to force her absence the first day, it had resulted in a general negative reaction, as the man thrashed restlessly in his sleep reopening two of the gashes down his side. As a result Ginny had spent the last three days at his bedside. He hadn't woken since the first day, but after the second day Ginny wasn't worried anymore. Even when he slept, his mind kept reaching out. It was like a child reaching out its hand looking for someone to hold onto.

As long as she kept his hand in hers, mentally speaking, he was completely calm. She got images sometimes, and they were confusing as hell. But she was beginning to understand them. Harry didn't think in words while like this, he thought in senses, sights and sounds, smells, touch, and taste. It was very confusing at first. But it was on the third day that she realized something more about him. He had been peacefully asleep, when she felt something tug at her mind. After a couple minutes of trying to figure out what was going on, she realized what he was trying to do, and she let him do it.

The world around her disappeared, and she found herself in a forest. Ancient trees blotted out the sun, and cast what she instinctively knew as perpetual shade. Moss dotted the forest floor and the heady scent of unspoiled nature filled her nose. She wandered, for how long she couldn't tell, the perpetual twilight of the forest threw off her sense of time. But eventually she realized that she was being stalked. Ginny Weasley was a predator, and even though she realized it, she didn't react. However, as time wore on, she began to become agitated. There would only be one other person here, it was his head after all, so she turned and looked directly where he was.

"Get out here! You've been prowling around for who knows how long, just come on out."

She was unprepared for what she saw next. The creature was immensely tall, perhaps three meters or so, so lean as to look unnatural and starved. It was covered in shaggy matted fur an unhealthy shade of yellow. Its limbs were overly long, and unnaturally proportioned for its body, and at the ends of them were delicate looking claws. Its eyes were the same unhealthy looking yellow, and they glowed with an inner light that made her shiver.

"Your not Harry."  
It chuckled, its voice was somewhere between the hacking sound of a cat trying to spit up a fur ball, and the wheezing death rattle of someone's final suffering breath. "We are known by many names."  
"You are not Harry." This time she said it with force, and projected her power behind it.

It chuckled again. "We are The Eater. We are what stalks the world. We are Alpha… and Omega. Beginning and End. When the world was young we gave it life… and when the time comes, all life will return to us."

And then she realized. "You're the creature… The God Eater. The Abaddon."  
"We are known by those names yes."

"But you're not Harry."  
"WE ARE HARRY! WE ARE AXOTH! WE ARE MALCOM! AND WE ARE DAVID! WE ARE CAINE! AND WE ARE JUDICE! WE ARE EVERY NIGHTMARE EVER DREAMED AND EVERY FEAR EVER REALIZED!" The power behind the words literally drove her to the ground, and it felt like there was a mountain pressing down on her. "INSIGINIFICANT WORM! WE ARE ETERNAL! AND YOU ARE SIMPLY A PASSING TRIFLE! NOW DISSAPEAR!" The pressure increased, and she let out choking gasp. Then suddenly the pressure vanished. She heard a roar, and looked up to see a creature somewhere between a wolf and a jungle cat had tackled the unknown beast. The beast howled in rage and pain, and before it could sink its claws into it, the creature pushed off and darted away, coming to stand between Ginny and her attacker.  
"Leave her."  
"SHE INSULTS US!"  
"She is ignorant and young."  
"SHE IS WEAK AND STUPID! WE WILL CRUSH HER BONES AND THEN SUCK THE MARROW FROM THEM!"  
"Then you would die. You would crush his spirit, and he would throw himself before every curse. He would fall from the clouds, and drown himself in the sea. He would let carrion feast on him, and wish every moment for death."  
"WE WOULD NEVER LET HIM DIE!"  
"Just as Axoth? Or Little Bear? Or Listens to Wind? He is the last one. The last of the bloodline. He dies… you die."

The beast hesitated, and then huffed and began to shamble away. "TEACH IT, OR WHEN NEXT WE MEET I WILL KILL IT!" And with that the beast was gone. They sat there, for several long minutes before the creature relaxed and turned to meet her gaze.

"I am Little Brother. What would you have me call you, child?"

"I'm Ginny… what was that?" The creature turned and looked in the direction the beast had retreated. "There is no name for it. It came before names, the last remnant of the primordial world. The True Dragons are gone. The Magi have long passed. The First People's blood is now gone. And the Idigam have vanished. Only It remains."  
"And you?  
"I am His guardian spirit. I am here to keep It in line. To protect him from that part of himself." Little Brother turned to look at her, "Why are you here?"

"I don't know. Harry… I think it was Harry wanted me here." The creature chuckled.

"He sleeps deeply to recuperate. Winter Ice is no small matter to overcome. It is an assassins weapon, meant to not be detected until it is far to late. He only knew that it was winter because he knew the assassins."  
"I couldn't get a straight answer out of Lily, or anyone else for that matter. Every time I asked the pixies she would threaten them. What is going on? I'm so confused by this whole situation, and I don't like being confused."  
"Not knowing makes you angry. Being angry makes you want to do something. But you can't leave because then he injures himself."  
"Yes. I need to know what is going on."  
"He has chosen you."

She wanted to scream in frustration. "What does that even mean!"  
The creature looked her in the eyes, and she realized that Little Brother's eyes were not natural. They were swirls of light, tiny motes that flickered like starlight, and if she stared into them, she could almost see them expand outward into something that tasted like infinity. "It is rare for someone like him to care for anyone. It is even rarer for them to truly care about someone. To be willing to stop their eternal hunt. His blood sings for the thrill of the hunt. The taste of flesh and blood, the crunch of bone in his maw. Always he yearns to be running, to be hunting, to chase and devour those weaker then him. To take their strength and become stronger. If he had to choose between the hunt, and you… he would choose you. Some part of him recognizes you, sees in you a kindred spirit. And it makes him hope for more than a cold infinity. An eternity of loneliness where the only solace comes in inflicting pain on others."

"Wait… he… likes me?"  
Little Brother cocked his head. "What an odd question. If he didn't like you, he wouldn't want you in his presence. He has killed for less before."  
She shook her head. "No. I mean, he like likes me?"  
This time Little Brother looked even more confused if it was possible. "I don't understand what you mean. Your words make no sense."  
"Oh for the love of… he loves me?"  
"Deeply."  
"But… we hadn't even met until the other day! How can he love me when he hasn't even seen me before?"  
"He smelled your scent."

"Oh for the love of Merlin. That's like saying that he fell in love at first sight!"  
"And why can't that be?"

She glared at him. "That's stupid. It's like something out of a fairy tale. It isn't real."  
"Fairies don't tell tales that aren't true."  
"It's an expression, a figure of speech. It means that it's a story that isn't real. That didn't happen. That doesn't happen in real life, but makes the world seem wonderful. The real world doesn't work like that. You can't fall in love at first sight! The real world is a place where bad things happen for no reason! Where people die because for no reason!"  
"Where little girls write in books and almost die. And other people do die. And then the little girl has to cry herself to sleep at night, because she was strong enough to capture an evil spirit, but now it lives inside her. Where that little girl grows up into a woman who can't forgive herself, because when she was young she was forced to kill against her will. Where she wants to find someone… anyone who would love her. Who wouldn't coddle her, and try to lock her away. Who would let her stand beside them and fight or die with them."

Ginny was shocked, the tears she didn't even know she was crying running down her face. "How… I never told anyone."  
"I'm not ignorant. I know far more than you could possibly comprehend. I know you Ginny. The second you told me your name, I knew everything about you."

"And he wont hurt you. Ever." Startled, Ginny spun and found herself face to face with the black wolf. And in that moment, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Years and years of pain and self loathing, of anger and frustration, all poured out. She wrapped her arms around him in a death grip and simply cried. She wept for the injustice of everything that had happened to her and her friends. She wept for the personal wounds that she had kept hidden for years. And she wept because, despite it all, before Tom Riddle, she had believed in Fairy Tales. She had believed in love, and joy, and happily ever after. And most of all because after years and years of waiting. Here was someone who was willing to accept her, unconditionally. Who knew her deepest, darkest secret, and didn't judge her or hate her for it. She could feel it, she was inside his mind after all, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he cared for her more than anything else in the world. As exhaustion started to overcome her, he whispered. "Shhhh. Don't worry. Go to sleep. I'll be right here. I'll keep you safe."

Outside of his mind, Harry potter continued to stroke the head of the wolf that was draped across him. It was uncomfortable, she was laying on his wounds, but they would be fine, and she was worth it. She would always be worth it.

AN: This chapter is a bit shorter. It's a transition chapter between two sections of the story. This all has been sort of the setup. Getting people into position, relationships established, and characters introduced. And while there will be more of all of that to come, this is the first major transition point. Two kindred spirits meet by chance and start to walk down a road together.

No production notes this time. I have misplaced them at the time of writing. I will make up for it with a double production note section on the next chapter, or by simply going back and adding then notes when I figure out where I put them.


	7. Chapter Six: Warriors Clash

_**- Chapter Six: Warriors Clash -**_

Neville Longbottom was beyond frustrated. He had been training for years to fight Voldemort. He had spent most of his life afraid of the man who had taken everything from him. And now that Voldemort had returned, and was finally moving out in the open, he had been locked up in one of the most secure locations in all of England. He didn't know precisely where the estate was located, but he did know that it was the ancestral land had belonged to the Potters before their deaths. The ancient wards continued to function, despite the bloodline being broken, and Albus Dumbledore had personally seen fit to add to the wards, making the home and the land it sat upon likely the most secure place in the entire wizarding world.

But no matter how much they dressed up what they were doing, the Order of the Phoenix was keeping him locked up and away from danger. They were trying their best to hide it all behind noble intentions, but that didn't help matters. His friends were out there, fighting for their lives, and several had already died because he had been locked up here. He always had at least two people here to guard him, and make sure he didn't try to run off. Walking down the corridor to the sitting room, he heard Dumbledore's voice and paused at the door and Listened.

"Remus, I don't know it this is really a good idea."  
"Albus, we need to use him for something. If we simply sit him down at Grimmauld Place he'll god stir crazy and to out looking for trouble. They're both about the same age, but I think that James could do Neville a world of good."  
"But Miss Weasley and Mr Longbottom have never had a good relationship Remus."

Now Neville's interest had been captured. Neville had met Ginny for the first time when he was entering his second year and she had been a first year. He had kept a distance out of respect for his friend Ron, who didn't want his 'little sister' hanging around. That year had been horrible. Two students had died because Voldemort had managed to get into the castle and unleash the beast in the Chamber of Secrets. Two students died, and several others had been petrified. And then the attacks just stopped. Ginny had been friends with Colin Creevey, who was one of the students killed in the attacks.

The year had been awful for everyone, but Ginny had seemed to take it especially hard. She had become something of a thorn in the side of Gryffindor house. She was rowdy, opinionated, and would start a fight at the slightest provocation. During his last year at Hogwarts, she had been especially troublesome. She had been selected as Hogwarts Tri-Wizard champion, and when Neville's own name had come out, making him a fourth competitor, she had become extremely cold towards him and his friends. The in house conflict had nearly torn Gryffindor apart, a situation that Slytherin had capitalized on and caused even more contention for the House of Lions.

And to make it even more embarrassing, Ginny had trounced everyone else in the competition. She had beaten all three others flat. She had even unknowingly thwarted an attempt to abduct Neville himself, and returned without a scratch. She was considered one of the brightest witches of the age, her graduating scores had tied her with Hermione. Something that she pointed out as having accomplished, 'Without cheating', though how the youngest Weasley had found out about Hermione's use of a time-turner the trio had never figured out.

But after school she had become even more of a problem. As Death Eater raids began to pick up, she had joined the Order of the Phoenix, but other than that she seemed completely stalled. Her family and friends had tried to get her to go out for something, anything really. Professional quidditch, work with the ministry, working for her brothers, opening he own business. She had rebuffed everyone and spent her time doing apparently nothing. And Neville hated her for it. Everything seemed to come so easily to the girl. He had to work to get where he was. Grueling twenty hour days. Running until he was drenched in sweat. Practicing his spell work from dawn to dusk. He loathed Ginny Weasley, and his friends had been hard pressed to disagree.

"What would you prefer? He's insisting that if he does any work for us, that she be assigned with him."  
"He is a boy Remus, he doesn't make demands of the Order."  
Remus sighed, "Here, he wanted me to give this to you if you were being difficult."

A muffled gasp. "Where did he find this?"

"He said that it was easy to find, it you knew where to look. He also wanted to point out that he could have simply left it in its resting place rather than hand it over. But he wanted our champion to have it."

A long silence, and then Dumbledore spoke again. "Very well. Have them brought over, can you handle the introductions?"  
"I'd be more than happy to."

The fireplace roared, and then Neville pushed the door open. Remus had just thrown a handful of floo powder into the flames, but he turned to look at Neville as he entered the study. "Neville, if you'll give me a moment, I have to contact your escorts for the day." He gestured to the table. "A gift for you." Then he lowered his face into the flames.

Neville turned to the table, curious as to what had been given over to make Dumbledore shocked. The sword was pure silver, with an exquisitely crafted grip and hilt, with rubies decorating key locations. But the name inscribed along the blade was what made Neville pause. Godric Gryffindor. He had seen drawings of the sword, and it matched in every detail that he could remember. As he reached out and touched the sword, it hummed beneath his fingers and he could feel the power in the sword.

He was broken from is reverie by the sound of the fireplace roaring to life again. The first person to arrive was the familiar form of Ginny. She quickly vacated the floo, and refused to even look at him. The next two to arrive were Ron and Hermione, and he was grateful to at least have the company of his friends at least. In a swirl of emerald flame, the final person appeared. As Neville got his first look at him, he wasn't impressed. The man stood several inches taller than himself, with close cropped black hair. His skin was fair, and he looked like he was fit and led an active lifestyle. His eyes were a vivid shade of green.

It was Remus who broke the silence. "Neville, Hermione, this is James Evens. Recently inducted member of the Order, he'll be one of your escorts for the day." James raised his hand to Hermione, who gave it a firm shake, and then he moved onto Neville and did the same. His grip was firm and Neville could feel the calluses on his hand, the same kind that he had on his own.

"A pleasure to meet you Hermione, Neville."

Remus spoke up then, "If you three will excuse me, I have somewhere to be. James,"  
"Not leaving until I'm relieved Sir." Remus smiled and with a nod vanished with a roar of the fireplace.

"So… James. I do have a question."

The black haired man turned and gave Neville a smile. "Go ahead, shoot."

"How old are you."  
"As of July the thirty first I will be twenty two years old."  
"So, same age as me. Why are you my bodyguard?"

The black haired boy continued to smile. "Because I've been cooped for almost a month now. Dumbledore was informed, very politely, that letting me go stir crazy wasn't the best option. I tend to get a little…. Wild."  
This caused Neville to glare at the boy. "So, you demanded to be my bodyguard."  
"No. I told Dumbledore to give me something to do. I didn't care if it was watching a street corner or hunting down Death Eaters. But after three and a half weeks of sitting around, with two days of actually doing something… I've got a lot of pent up energy."  
He turned to glare are Ginny. "Then why'd you demand that she accompany you."  
While James continued to smile, it now failed to reach his eyes. "Eves dropping I see. Not very honorable, Sir Gryffindor. Ginny has been taking care of me while I was confined to my sick bed this past week. We've talked a lot, and are fairly similar, I figured we would work very well together."

Hermione huffed at that, and James turned to her. "Something the matter. Speak your mind."  
"If you like her, then I doubt you'll get along with any of us."  
James never stopped smiling. "I don't need to get along with you. I don't have to share your interests. I'm not here to be your friend. I'm here to guard Mr Longbottom, to make sure that he doesn't get attacked, or run off to do something foolish."

She fixed him with a glare. "I would be willing to bet that Neville far more skilled than you. Between the three of us we should be fine."  
"Well I don't answer to you. I answer to my mother, and through her I answer to Dumbledore. And lets see about that." James turned and looked Neville in the eyes. His expression lost all kindness, becoming a cold mask. "Tell me Neville. Did you kill your first real friend, your best friend, with your bare hands and a rock?"

Neville was taken aback, and both Hermione and Ron gasped in shock. "What kind of question is that?!" Shouted Ron. James turned to him, and Ron involuntarily took half a step back, James's gaze was so intense. "I was eleven years old. We had been living with the King for nearly a year. I had met someone who had lived a hard life like me. Ace was a good kid. He was everything you could want in a knight, loyal, compassionate, and brave… We did everything together. We both went out with the Summer Court for training. Our task master figured out that we were friends. He took us all out in the woods to an old training pit. He tossed me and Ace in, and the rest of the Summer fey all got out bows. He told us, 'Fight until one of you dies. If you refuse, both of you die.' We didn't believe him at first. But then they started shooting at us… I didn't want to die… Ace didn't want to die either…" His looked away. "I killed my first real friend. With a rock. I beat him until he stopped moving and then I kept hitting him with it until there wasn't anything left of his head."

He looked up at Hermione. She looked somewhere between enraged, embarrassed, and sick. "So tell me Hermione. Has Neville been training that long? Has your friend had the guts to kill someone simply because it was kill or be killed? Has he had his legs broken, his fingers smashed, his ribs broken? Has he been burned? Tortured? Has he,"

"STOP!" Neville shouted. And James snapped his mouth shut. "You think your better then me?" Neville glared at the man. "You think just because you killed your friend that you're somehow better than me?"

James gave him a sad smile. "No. There's other reasons, but I can't say without permission."  
"Duel me."

James looked shocked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. We've got plenty of space on the grounds. We break for an hour, then you try to find and catch us. If you can, then I'll never bring it up again. If you can't, then while you're here you stay the hell away from us. Deal?"  
James seemed to ponder everything for a moment, then stuck out his hand. Neville grabbed the offered limb and gave it a firm shake while James. "Deal. If we can't catch you then we'll leave you alone."

Neville grinned and then realized what James had said. "Wait, we?"  
He nodded. "Well yeah, me an Ginny. Don't try to back out now, fey deals have tendency to be quite physically painful when you back out."

He glared past James at Ginny. "Fine. Guys, lets go."  
"One hour starting… now."

- Warrior: En Garde -

Several hours later the two wolves continued to run across the grounds together. They enjoyed each other's company immensely. They had already spent almost four hours chasing each other, wrestling, and just enjoying each other's presence. The sun had begun its steady decline into the west, and neither one wanted the day to end. Stopping at a stream for a quick drink, Ginny reached out with her mind. She was learning quickly, and not only was she proud of herself, Harry was proud of her as well.

'So… you think it's time to go actually find them.'

'You heard them. They don't need bodyguards. Let 'em keep waiting. The agreement didn't specify how long we had. Besides, I booby trapped the doors when we left. If they try to go back inside they'll be hoisted up into the air and left to dangle.'

She looked at him. 'You didn't.'

'I did. They're arrogant. It'll get them or someone they care about killed. I'll take this time to teach them some humility.'

They heard shouting from far off, and after a quick shared look, took off in the direction. From their vantage point in the trees they saw Neville and Hermione walking across the ground shouting for them. With a sigh they both changed back. Then stepped out of the brush. "OI!"

The two spotted them and rushed over. "What did you do?!" Shrieked Hermione.

Harry gave her a rather contemptuous look. "If you referring the snaring spell, I figured you would try to sneak back into the house. Just put it in front of the doors."  
"Well Ron's been up their for almost twenty minutes. Go let him down."  
"Surrender yourselves and I will."

The two friends looked shocked. "Wait what?"  
"We never specified how long this little hunt was on for. Still going. Now, you going to leave your friend to his fate? Or are you going to join him?"  
Neville's wand was in his hand, "Neither." And with then a stunner struck Ginny and another quickly hit Harry. Turning his back on them, Neville smiled. "Looks like we win."  
"Beautiful sky wouldn't you say?"  
"Absolutely lovely."

Hermione and Neville turned and saw the two looked like they were lounging in the grass. James looked at Neville. "You'll have to do better then that. My mum could hit harder. Of course, being a dragon does help." Neville saw red. He hadn't used nonverbal magic a lot, but he had practiced enough. He wanted to blast James Evens into the next county, so that was what he attempted to do. But between when the curse left his wand, and when it struck where James had been, he was sent flying. A fist connected with his nose and he felt it snap with a sickening crunch. Looking up through eyes that were tearing up, he saw James standing where he had been not moments before. He realized that Ginny was sprawled on the ground next to his attacker, and looked extremely disoriented.

"Don't worry, you'll get your bearings back in a bit." Then James turned to glare at Neville. "You! You tried to kill us!"  
"How did you…" James was on him then. He grabbed Neville by his robes and lifted him into the air with only one arm. "If you ever try to hurt her again, I'll kill you!" Neville watched as the man's eyes flashed and changed, becoming amber with flecks of their normal green. He gasped. "Hermione… Therianthrope!"

James suddenly found a wand under his chin. "Put him down, or I'll blast you head clean off your shoulders."

Harry didn't react in the slightest. "You hear me Longbottom!"  
Hermione didn't quite know how to react to being completely ignored, so she flicked her wand, and a muttered word she cast a severing charm down his leg, cutting through James's robes and into his skin, and quickly returned her wand to his throat. However, not two seconds later she was tackled to the ground, an irate gray and white wolf standing on her. When she tried to use her wand, the wolf snapped it up in its jaws and threw it away into the grass.

"You didn't have to do that." James spoke. Ginny only growled in response.

"Well… I couldn't let him just do something like that again." Another growl.

"Alright… point taken."

Neville had seen what had happened. When Hermione had sliced James's leg, Ginny Weasley had instantly snapped to attention, then her form had blurred and suddenly the wolf had been leaping through the air to tackle Hermione. He realized now part of the reason that Ginny was such a wild child. Therianthropes weren't exactly stable people. Most pureblood families considered them to be magical beasts at best. He had heard that some of the richest families in the wizarding world used therianthropes as guard animals. And the British ministry was wasn't as lax as others. He now realized why Ginny wouldn't pursue any career. There was a high probability of her getting found out, and then getting black listed.

And now they had two of them, who seemed quite attached to each other. If Ron found out… "Answer me Longbottom!" He was jerked roughly out of his thoughts.

"I promise!"

"Good." And then Harry dropped him unceremoniously into the grass, then turned to Ginny. "Well, shall we my lady?" Ginny snapped at Hermione, and then darted off. "Can't say it's been a pleasure. A simple Finite should let your friend down. You stay inside, we'll stay outside until later this evening." And with that a black wolf was darting away as well.

- Warrior: En Garde -

"Come on Hermione, I think I would know if my sister was a shape shifter."

"Ron, its true. Why would we lie about this?" Ron stared at his friends across the kitchen table. "Well?"

He looked down at the table and gave a grunt in reply.

"You know we wouldn't."

"I'm pretty sure I would know. Maybe you told me Bill or Charlie was one."  
Hermione let out a frustrated noise and shook her head. Neville had to agree. "Ok, even if we are making up a story. Shouldn't you be angry that her and that bloke are out there alone somewhere? Who knows what he's doing?"

"Are you kidding? My sister hasn't been into boys since her second year! And the couple of times I did try to get involved, she threatened to hex me. I might be brave, but even I'm not that stupid. Merlin's beard, she won the Tri-Wizard tournament, and scored even with Hermione and both OWLs and NEWTs. I think she can handle herself."

- Warrior: En Garde -

Ginny paced the clearing restlessly. Her thoughts were speeding by faster then she could give them any actual notice. 'Oh god… no one is supposed to know. I just transformed and attacked Hermione. Now everyone's going to find out. My life's over… Mum and Dad will disown me… never want to see me again. Sirius knows, but he can't keep me safe from everyone. Oh god,'

'Hush. Calm down.' And then Harry was there, brushing up along side her, tucking his head over her neck and nuzzling her. 'It was bound to happen. Don't worry, your life isn't over. I'll be right here with you.'

She looked up at him and couldn't help the piteous whine that escaped her throat. 'No… they'll find out. They'll hunt me down… all of them. No one sides with therianthropes. Dumbledore… he'll get all of the Order to hunt us down! And the ministry too! No, no, no, no, no,' her thoughts spiraled out of her control, until suddenly he pulled on the scruff of her neck. On instinct she went limp and he let her flop to the ground, and then dropped down to meet her gaze.

'Ginny… you can't run from what you are. You've been running your whole life. It's time to take a stand. Either your family accepts you, or they don't. If they don't, and everyone grabs up the pitchforks, then we'll just leave. We'll leave it all behind. We can go anywhere you want. France, Italy, the States, Africa… hell if you want to go live in Siberia we can go there.'

She looked up into his eyes and couldn't believe it all. He hadn't lied once. She knew that he felt honor bound to help everyone here. That he need to kill Voldemort. Not only because it was the right thing to do, but also because the beast inside him called out for it. A part of Harry wanted to kill the darkest wizard this side of Grindelwald and feast on him. To drink his hearts blood and take his power. But he was willing to set aside all of it for her. She needed a distraction for a while, and she knew just what to do. She rose to her paws, looked him in the eyes, then scuffed him across the nose and took off running. Leaping a fallen tree, she dared to take a look back, and saw him hot in pursuit. So she let loose a howl of joy and poured on the speed.

- Warrior: En Garde -

Neville sat in the library for hours, but he couldn't concentrate. Every so often he would hear the barks and howls of the two wolves on the grounds. Redoubling his efforts, he unrolled another sheet of vellum and searched. He had been at it for hours, but there was no House Evens. No where was anyone with the sir name Evens mentioned. The records kept here were extensive, copies of everything that any Order member could get their hands on. From alchemical formulae to issues of the Quibbler. And in all his searching, he had only found one Evens, but Lily Potter nee Evens was dead. But looking out at the grounds, his eyes darkened. Or was she? Maybe she had betrayed them all so long ago. Maybe when Voldemort came, she turned traitor and fled. Voldemort didn't remember the night of his attack on the Potters, Severus had informed them all of that little fact. Maybe they had conspired together. If the boy outside was Harry Potter, and she realized what he was when he was young, she looked for a way out and found it through betrayal. Killed her husband, fled the country, and raised her son as a weapon for the Dark.

He needed something, some sort of leverage over him. He could use that to find out the truth, and then use it if he really was an enemy to turn on his master. Then he remembered something. "Hermione?"

Her voice drifted through expansive room. "Yes?"

"Do you know where Artifacts of the Ancient Kings by Maxwell Montileaux is?"

AN: From now on, the story will begin to take on a bit more of a sinister air. This is not your good old Harry Potter world. I don't like just rehashing ground so tread that its become a well worn path. I debated adding production notes to the previous chapter, but decided to just keep forging on. If I feel like doing so when we hit the first series of revisions, I will make sure that you all know about it.

- WARNING: PRODUCTION NOTES -

The word therianthrope tends to conjure up images of the modern Lycanthrope. But the truth of the matter is both far more complicated and far simpler. The affliction of lycanthropy was often during the middle ages confused with a true Lycanthrope. While the origins of the curse are unknown, Afflicted Lycanthropes (Abbreviated here after as Afflicted) are not the same as a Lupus therianthrope. A Therianthrope is what they are from birth. And while some Afflicted are born with their condition, it is simply that, a condition. The occurrence of a therianthrope is enough to be classified as rare to uncommon, and has just as much likelihood of appearing within muggle populations as it does within the wizarding population. Of those born into the muggle population, there is a roughly ten to twelve percent likelihood of the therianthrope also being classified as a Witch of Wizard. To clarify, therianthropes are a form of shape shifter, similar to the Metamorphmagus. However, they are distinct from the Animagus as follows. First, they are born with the innate ability to transform into their animal form. Second, therianthropes show a consistently higher physical response to magical stimuli, being able to shrug off most lesser curses and hexes. Third, while Afflicted do show increased healing ability, especially during the times leading up to, and during, the full moon, therianthropes are singularly unique in that given enough time and energy, so long as their bodies do not cease to function, are capable of recovering from any wound. Also, despite arguments to the contrary, a therianthrope is not a human being. Unlike the Afflicted, they are a magical creature, at best, and a magical beast at worse. They are controlled by their animal instincts, and should not be considered fit to stand beside wizards. We should strive to help our brothers and sisters so afflicted with such a condition. But the therianthrope deserves neither pity nor aid.

- Excerpt from Alder Xavier De La Cruise's work: Magical Afflictions of the Body Mind and Spirit


	8. Chapter Seven: Perspective

_**- Chapter Seven: Perspective -**_

The tower was only illuminated by scattered torches, their flickering light only revealing the barest minimum of the interior. But none of that was what Neville Longbottom was after. All that mattered was if Anthony had managed to find what he wanted. Opening the ornate chest, he was greeted with three objects. The first was a silvery length of chain, that looked like it belonged around the neck of someone attending a high society function. Removing the magnifier from his pocket, he examined the chain more closely, and saw the intricate etching along the links, which matched what he was looking for. Setting the chain aside, he looked at the second object. An ornate ring, cast from a pale whitish gold material. All the markings matched as well. The last object, a piece of parchment, was just right as well. Replacing the objects into the chest, Neville looked back at Anthony.

The man grinned, his teeth flashing in the torchlight. "I trust everything is in order Mr Longbottom?" Neville's gaze didn't waver, he had to make certain.

"Anthony. Are you positive that these are what I'm after? I can't use fakes, and it might cost lives if they are."

Anthony's expression was one of shock and dismay. "Now sir, I have yet to sell an object that I wasn't positive about. The chain was locked up in a castle in Norway, easy enough to procure, no one knew it was there. The ring was a bit trickier to track down, but again, tower in the middle of the Arabian Desert. No one to ask questions. The parchment… well there's a whole sheaf of it in the DoM. Just bribed one of my sources, wasn't cheap, and he said that if you do anything, the consequences are on your own head."

Neville looked for signs of deceit, but couldn't find any. So he retrieved the key from his pocket, and handed it over. "You payment, Gringotts of London, vault nine seventy three."

"As always Mr Longbottom, it has been a pleasure."

Neville took the chest in both hands and then concentrated and spun on his heel. He arrived inside his room at the estate. He was one of the few people who could apparate through the wards here, though he had made sure Dumbledore didn't know about that. Setting the chest on his desk, he set the first part of his plan into motion. A quick letter by owl to Dumbledore, and everything was set. Now he just had to wait for his… escorts to arrive.

- Warrior: En Garde -

The crack of wood on wood echoed across the grounds followed by a grunt of pain. "Very good. Again!" Harry was impressed with what he had seen while approaching. Neville had apparently taken it upon himself to train up his swordsmanship since having received the Sword of Gryffindor just over two weeks prior. However, that didn't explain why he and Ginny were there.

They hadn't had a rather good impression of each other. To be blunt, Harry didn't like Neville or his friends. They were little better then overgrown children, playing at war. As a result, he hadn't seen any of the three for the past two weeks. To be honest he hadn't seen much of Ginny either. Dumbledore had been keeping everyone running around with busy work. Since the attack he thwarted near the Burrow, there hadn't been any additional attacks. Voldemort had withdrawn, and only a few select Death Eaters were being allowed to see him.

So, as a result the Order and Ministry were left sitting and waiting. But to be honest, Harry didn't mind much why he was here. Any time he got to spend with Ginny was good enough for him. The sound of wood hitting flesh came to his ears. "I think that's enough for today. Thank you Mr Muller."  
"No thank yous are needed Mr Longbottom. You're quite dedicated to bettering yourself at this. If half of the students I have trained were half as dedicated as you, there would be a legion of trained swordsmen for me to use to impress women with!" The olive skinned man flashed Neville a smile, before composing himself. "The same time tomorrow?"  
"Afraid I wont be able to tomorrow. The day after thou, we'll pick up right where we left off." As the man turned to leave he tipped his head to Harry and Ginny and strode off to the manor.

Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks took notice of the approaching figures, but loosened their posture when they recognized them. It was Ginny who spoke as they arrived. "Kingsley, Tonks, you stand relieved. Head on out, we'll take it from here." The two nodded and began the march back to the manor. Neville however didn't move, waiting until he was sure the doors to the manor had closed. Ginny turned to look at him, "So… the three of you didn't tell anyone."

Neville's gaze was cool. "Didn't seem prudent." He slipped his hands into the pockets of his robes. "I asked for him to you look after me today, because I had some questions, and you Mr Evens," He turned his gaze onto James then. "Are going to answer them."  
Harry snorted. "I highly doubt that anything your asking is something I want to answer. So I'll pass, thanks."  
"It wasn't a request." Neville shot forward, faster then Harry thought he would move, but he wasn't worried. Then he suddenly changed direction when he was closer to Ginny, and his hand shout out of his robes. Ginny felt something wrap around her throat, it bit into her skin with a bitter cold and stole her breath away, leaving her gasping. She suddenly realized that she was on her knees in the grass, and looked up into Neville's cold eyes. Then she heard Harry's growl.

"Take it off, or I'll rip you apart piece by piece." Neville turned to look at James, but shifted to keep Ginny in his sight as well. "I don't think so." Then he made a gesture, as though pulling back, and Ginny felt the chain dig into her throat, constricting her breathing even more. "It's a Gleipnir. They're a kind of magical artifact that's been floating since before Hogwarts was founded. Kind of rare now, considering they fell out of use. It's a collar, but it has this nasty habit of killing people who don't have enough magic to them. Now, Mr Evens, I'm going to ask questions. Every time you don't answer or lie, I'm going to tighten my grip. Now… she might be more resilient then your average wizard, but I am absolutely sure that she can't live without air."

The look Neville received was absolutely murderous. "And before you think that if you jump me fast enough, I'm the one who put it on, so I'm the one who has to take it off. If you kill me, it'll choke the life out of her before you can even try to get it off. So now… Mr Evens… who are you really?"

James stared back at him, his expression not giving anything away. "And what do you mean by that?"

"Don't try to be coy, but to prevent you from trying any word games, let me come at this directly. Are you Harry James Potter?"

Harry stared, no emotion played across his features. "No." Ginny let out a choking sound, and he couldn't help his wince.

"Don't lie." And Neville removed his other hand from his robes. He wore a signet ring that Harry instantly recognized. "Recognize it don't you. Only six of them left, seven now that I've managed to dig this one up. Every time you lie, I'll know. Now, lets try again. Are you Harry James Potter?"  
"I don't answer to that,"  
"No word games! Yes or no!"

Harry's eyes took on a murderous intent, and Neville saw them flash, suddenly becoming a very unhealthy shade of yellow before settling back to normal. "Yes."

"Are you the son of James Potter and Lily Evens?"  
"Yes."  
"Have you been living in the Americas since you left England?"

"Yes."

Neville paused, and when he spoke the question hung in the air. "Are you a Lupus therianthrope?"

Harry hesitated, but when he saw Neville start to move his right arm, he quickly spoke. "No." The blond boy seemed to hesitate at that. "Then what are you?"  
"I cannot answer that question."

"Don't lie to,"

Ginny shuddered when she heard the voice. It wasn't any more pleasant to hear it now, then it had been inside his mind weeks prior. "_Oh… what do we have here?_"  
"Potter, answer the question or,"  
"_Harry Potter's not here anymore._" As Neville watched, Harry's body distorted and he was left looking at something… inhuman. Immensely tall, unnaturally lean, covered in shaggy matted fur the same sickly shade of yellow has its eyes, with overly long limbs tipped with delicate looking claws. Neville didn't recognize it, but the signet ring glowed hot on his finger. "_A seal… lucky you…It's the only thing standing between me and your flesh._"  
"What are you?"

It chuckled, the sound was completely unpleasant to listen to. "_Your kind calls us Abaddon. But you will know me… as the last thing you see before you die!_" It lashed a limb at him, and the ring flared becoming hot enough to be unpleasant. Invisible force rippled past him and the dirt and grass for some thirty yards was ripped up and sent flying. The creature snarled. "_I WILL EAT YOU! I WILL BE THERE THE SECOND YOU TAKE IT OFF! AND I WILL FEAST ON YOUR HEART!_"

Neville saw Ginny dash forward, and realized that he had lost his concentration. She walked right up to the creature and let loose a snarl into its face. "Go back!"  
It glared past her. "_You do not command me!_"

"Go back, or I'll hurt myself." She drew a blade from a hidden sheath and held it to her face. "Last warning." The creature released a sound somewhere between snarl of rage and the mewl of a kitten. And then its form rippled and Harry was left standing where it once had. He promptly collapsed forward, and Ginny dropped the knife and caught him.

Neville realized the opportunity and bolted. He had to get inside, he had to tell Dumbledore. He didn't get ten yards. Ginny Weasley tackled him, and pinned him to the ground. "Now you listen you, you pompous, arrogant, pureblood prick! If you breath one word of what just happened, I'll rip out Hermione's throat." Her eyes flashed, becoming inhuman for a split second. Neville glared back at her.

"You wouldn't dare! She's your brother's fiancé."

"Fuck Ron! He's been an overbearing prick, who only gets involved in my life when he wants to make me do what he wants me to do. If I have to choose between him, and Harry, I choose the man I want to spend my life with."

"Do you realize what he is?!"  
"I know better then anyone what he is, and what he's capable of. And I'm the only thing standing between that monster inside him, and everyone else. Kill me, and he'll tear down the whole damn world around you."

They stared at each other for a very long time, before Neville realized that she wasn't going to budge. If he did anything, people would get hurt, and everything would spiral out of control. "Fine. I'll keep my mouth shut. But you two answer to me now, got it?!"

Her response was ice cold. "Crystal."

- Warrior: En Garde -

Allen Templeton hung suspended in the air, his body making lazy circles. His wounds no longer burned with fresh pain, now they only dully ached. The bare stone room was all he had seen of his prison, and he knew that it was the last place he would ever see. After all, Lord Voldemort didn't release anyone he caught. He had tried, lord knows he had tried to resist the torture, but eventually he had just given up and told them. And now he was left spinning in the air. The only real question was why? Why did Voldemort need to know about the night the Potters had died? He had been there, he should know everything. The only reason for him not to know, was if he hadn't been there. And if he hadn't been there… then where had he been for the last twenty years? Who killed Lily and James Potter? What happened to their barely one year old son? His mind simply kept spinning, much like his body. Then the door opened and He was there. Allen prepared himself, hoping that maybe, just maybe he could survive.

"Mr Templeton…" Lord Voldemort's voice was soft, almost kind, "I would like to thank you for your help. If it weren't for you, I never would have been able piece this whole thing together. So let me reward you…" Allen was dropped to the floor, and looking up at Voldemort, he had hope for the first time in days. "Avada Kedavra!"

AN:

I am going to be taking a few days from adding anymore to Warrior: En Garde. The primary reason is that the Warrior series is basically a commission. I lost a bet, and as a result my friend demanded that I actually write something for them. So that's what I'm doing. But we are having some creative differences. I'm writhing this to please them, and as a result am finding that I need to rework several things that are supposed to be brought up in this chapter and later chapters. As a result, this chapter is much shorter then I intended. But I didn't to stop working on this without putting something out to inform you all. When I post the next chapter, the additional content for this chapter will be added as well. Hopefully this shouldn't take more then a few days.

That being said, I don't want to stop writing. I'll loose steam and get generally bored if I do. So, I'm going to be working on something that's a sort of companion piece. The Bloodlines series will be something that I can work on while I take breaks from Warrior, and will be entirely in my hands. Thank you for your patience. Expect the first chapter of Bloodlines to be up later this evening.


	9. Chapter Eight: Clash of Titans

_**- Chapter Eight: Clash of Titans - **_

The first winter snow was absolutely overwhelming. London was buried with just over a half a meter of snow, and it only got worse the farther north anyone traveled. The buzz of the wireless filled the sitting room at Phoenix Manor, as Neville was now calling it. "Minister Fudge declared a state of emergency this morning, as continued snow fall makes standard travel means difficult. Witches and Wizards are informed to attempt to stay indoors. Any household not connected to the Floo Network is asked to request a temporary Floo connection free of charge."

As the Floo flared to life, Hermione appeared quickly followed by Ron. "The muggle weather services can't figure out what's going on. Theories are flying around but no one can explain it."

Neville didn't even look up from the tome he was examining. "Any news?"

Hermione sighed and slumped into her chair next to Neville at the large round table. "No. Are those two here?"  
"They're my bodyguards Hermione, of course they're here. They went out to check the grounds." The sound of the doors opening and cursing echoed down the hall. "Speak of the devils."

After a few minutes both Harry and Ginny were trudging into the room. "I'm positive now. The Winter Lady is here." Neville and Hermione turned and gave him an incredulous look, while Ron continued to lean back in his chair, his feet propped up on the table. Hermione spoke first, her voice hard. "You really think that a member of the Fey Courts would violate a wizarding country?"  
"I've never had a lot of direct interaction with her, but yes. She's not a calm leader, she's not Voldemort. She's very direct… and this snow isn't natural. She unstable and as a result her power is leaking out." All the while Ginny walked up to the large fireplace and with a shimmer of magic became a wolf and collapsed next to the flames. A flash of anger passed through Harry's mind as he saw the glimmer of the Gleipnir, but he quickly clamped down on the emotion. "Don't go outside. It's already below zero, and it'll only get," Harry felt it… a massive shift in the air. A ripple of magic that crashed over him like a wave. "Something's happening." He bolted to the Floo and quickly threw in powder, and shoved his face into the now emerald flames. Everyone stared in stunned silence. After about two minutes he pulled his head out of the flames, his expression grim. "Voldemort's made his move. He's launched an attack on the ministry."

They were on their feet within seconds, Ginny quickly ripping open a cabinet of potions and downing one to replenish her energy. Ron moved in a manner far calmer then usual, and quickly strode over to a wardrobe and began to don armor. Hermione quickly banished much of the excess furniture into the side rooms, making way for any one they might receive. As Harry moved away from the Floo however, there was a sound like a roaring dragon and the Floo erupted in fire that glowed a white blue before it exploded. As the smoke cleared, Neville called out. "Anyone hurt?!"

Hermione and Ron were quick to respond, but then they heard a groan. Hermione quickly vanished the smoke, revealing Harry's body covering Ginny. Blood was pooling and Hermione quickly moved forward and saw the problem. Harry's left arm was simply gone from the elbow down, and blood was pouring out of the ragged wound. She didn't hesitate, "Neville! Check the potions, if there's any blood replenishers get them! Ron, get my kit from my room!"

Ginny looked up at Hermione, her eyes unfocused, from a concussion Hermione suspected. "Ginny, how many fingers?" She thrust two fingers into her face. Ginny glared at her and took a bit at her hand. "Ok, definitely a head injury." Ginny's only response was to growl and attempt to curl further into a ball. Neville's hand appeared holding a potion, which she took. "Only two more, rest of the potions were a mess." Hermione moved forward in an attempt to administer the potion, only to have Ginny lash out again. "Ginny… I'm really sorry about this." The stunner struck her face and Ginny slumped, but didn't stop moving. 'Damn therianthropes… So resilient!' But now she couldn't put up much more then a token effort to stop Hermione's efforts.

As she pulled Harry off of the irate she-wolf, she realized something immediately. He wasn't bleeding. She cursed and quickly rolled him to look at his face. It was calm, and he was still breathing, and only made her more confused. As she looked down however, she saw the ragged stump of his limb shimmer and slowly begin to extend. The new flesh was odd, a dark inhuman color, and it was covered in a light fuzz of yellow fur. As his hand began to form, its digits clenched and then quickly snapped out and claws simply ripped through the soft skin trickling blood for a few seconds before Harry's whole body spasmed and he sucked in a ragged breath.

"FUCK! That hurt…" Hermione stared.

"You loose almost a whole arm, and then grow it back in less then five minutes, and all you can say is, that hurt?" Harry looked up into her eyes.

"Hey… your really cute from this angle." He then grunted, and Hermione looked down to see Ginny had clamped her teeth into his other arm, and was growling.

"Wow… your even cuter..." Hermione carefully laid his down onto the floor and extricated herself from the two therianthropes.

Moving to sit at the table next to Neville she muttered, "Really? Nearly dies and now all he can do is flirt."

"Oh they're doing more than flirting now." Hermione looked up and realized that they had indeed moved straight on to snogging. She quickly sent several stinging hexes at the two. They didn't seem to react to the actual hexes, but did stop and turn to look at Hermione. Ginny's eyes were a deep amber flecked with her normal brown, and Harry's were a sickening shade of yellow with silted pupils. "You do remember that Voldemort's attacking the Ministry right?" The two looked confused. All of their gazes were pulled to Ron as he came sliding into a stop in the room, Hermione's emergency kit in her hands. He quickly looked between them, and then asked, "Head injury?" Hermione nodded. He walked over and handed her the kit, and then walked over to Ginny and Harry.

Ron never liked doing this, but it was an emergency. He gathered some of his power, and tried to remember the proper resonance for what he was doing. "Harry, Ginny, you remember we need to get ready right?" He wove the spell and reached out touching each of them. The effect was instant, Ginny's eyes instantly snapped back into focus and then back to her normal brown. Harry's eyes however gained a glimmer to them. Ron knew he had used the right spell… he backpedaled quickly away as Harry re-grown limb lashed out, the claws inches from his face. _"Little Magi… come back… I only want a taste…"_

Ron couldn't keep his mouth shut, "Bloody hell… freaking Acamoth."

Neville quickly chucked a piece of wood at Ron's back. "Shut it!"  
Hermione looked questioningly between her friends, Ginny, and Harry. "What's going on?"

"Shut it Ron!"

"He's a freaking Acamoth! No way! Screw Voldemort, we need everyone here!"

"What's an Acamoth?!"  
"Don't say anything else Ron!"

"Little Magi…I promises not to kill you…"

"She needs to know!"

"I've got it under control!"  
"What's going on?!"

The loud series of bangs made everyone stop talking, and look at Ginny. She looked flustered, and Harry was still clinging to her. "Harry… you need to stop. We need to go to the Ministry."

"Want to taste the Magi… Want to taste you…"

"You want what's at the Ministry."

Harry growled, _"Magi closer… you even closer."_

"Harry, no. Ministry!" He growled back. "We go to the Ministry, and you can impress me." Harry grinned back before pulling both of them to their feet. _"No holding back then."_

Harry turned and looked at the others, but when he did his eyes were back to normal. "You all ready?"

Hermione looked scandalized. "And now are we going to get there? Floo's out, we don't have a Portkey, and I would rather not Apparate into a war zone." Harry walked over to the crater that was once the Floo, he turned and with a grin he drug his arm down. The air distorted, shimmering like the air above a summer road, then it seemed to sharpen and an image appeared. There were several gasps, and two people fell through.

Arthur Weasley felt the wall behind him give way, and he found himself looking up at his youngest son and daughter, Hermione, Neville, and someone he hadn't met before. Hermione gasped, "How did you…"

Harry's voice was smug. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve." He looked down at Arthur. "Should probably get anyone you don't want caught in this through now." Arthur pulled himself back to his feet and quickly poked his head back through. "KINGSLEY! EXIT OVER HERE!"

- Warrior: En Garde -

The main atrium was absolutely silent. No one dared try to force their way further into the ministry, and the Death Eaters had no interest in leaving. While fighting was taking place further within, the Death Eaters here were the rear guards. No one interfered or got past them. If they let anyone past, then the Dark Lord would kill them himself, if they were lucky. But then someone came strolling out of the darkness that was the entrance hall. "Halt! Move one step closer and you die!"

The figure did exactly that. "Let me guess, guard duty?" He shouted back.

"None of your business! Leave and I'll forget I ever saw you!"

'No time to hold back. I can end this right here and now… I can feel him… and before the sun sets I'm going to eat him.' "See, I would, but there's a problem."  
"Oh?! And what's that?"

Harry didn't respond with words. He tapped into that raw power that lurked deep inside of him. He shimmered and lashed out with his hands. The spell was raw, but not untested. Two lances of power intersected just in front of the barricade the speaker had been behind. There was a pure chime of power, and the barricade and speaker simply evaporated into pieces. Shards of stone, metal, and wood rained down with human remains. And for a moment, no one moved. Then Harry lunged forward. Spells lashed out, but he crossed the fifty yards or so in seconds. He seized one of the masked figures and simply twisted, a sickening crunch accompanied by the mans scream and he was thrown aside like a rag doll. He reached out and seized the next one giving a sharp pull, her neck gave a sickening pop and she went completely limp, then let go. He saw a flash of green, and a curse struck him pushing him back into the barricade. Cackling laughter reached his ears. "No matter how fast some worthless creature is, no one lives to threaten the Dark Lord!"

Harry righted himself, shrugging off the debris that had fallen on him, and looked at the shocked woman. She had wild black hair, and a haunting beauty despite her gaunt skull like face. He looked down and a scar in the form of a jagged lightning bolt burned into his chest. His voice was a deep growl, utterly inhuman, "You must be Bellatrix Lestrange… you shouldn't have stopped to gloat." He simply stepped forward and slit his arm through her breast and out the back of her body. She gasped, then looked down at the offending limb. He could feel her power… dark, corrupt, icy cold to the touch, and it slithered about within her, corrupting her mind and soul. He latched on to the power, pulled his arm back and ripped her heart from her chest, then took half of it in a single bite. The woman stared, her eyes still seeing, but he knew her vision was fading. After swallowing the rest, he consent rated and ripped the power out of her body, along with the life force attached to it. She gasped and then collapsed in a boneless heap.

He heard several other voices and turned… his blood was singing, and there was someone he was driven to impress with the carnage. So he moved again, and there were more screams.

- Warrior: En Garde -

Lord Voldemort looked up at the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, as he dangled in the air before him. The room was large and ornate, the primary meeting place for the Wizengamot. A more fitting place for the purge of the impure to begin there wasn't. "And now my Death Eaters, we begin to purge the corruption from our world! Now we shall prune our tree, less the disease of these mudbloods be allowed to," he never finished his speech.

The ornate double doors exploded and a bloody head flew through the air to land at his feet. He instantly recognized Bellatrix, though he felt nothing annoyance at loosing such a competent minion. Turning, Lord Voldemort looked at the hulking figure that was standing on the ruins of the doors, and sneered. "Well, well, what have we here? A filthy creature that doesn't know its place." There was a chuckle from the assembled Death Eaters.

The creature didn't laugh. It just spoke, "It was raining outside last time…" The laughing died down, and several confused looks were exchanged. Voldemort was the one to respond, "Last time? Do tell us creature, what last time?" Their gaze met, and then the creature was looking around the room. "The last time we met. Don't you remember? I will admit, I was very small then… but I would think you would remember the one who spat your killing curse back at you."

And then the was moving, vaulting through the air, he planted his feet on the two Death Eaters between him and Voldemort, digging his claws into their backs and pushing them to the ground with all the force of his downward momentum. There were sickening pops and the two men screamed. But as he was about to dodge forward, he realized what was coming and quickly spun around throwing another Death Eater into the path of the curse. The man's intestines seemed to snake their way out of his stomach, only to wrap around his throat and begin to choke him. Suddenly the room was chaos. Death Eaters diving for cover or trying to exit the room, Voldemort raining down curses and deflecting objects, and a creature ducking and weaving through them to return fire by throwing debris at the Dark Lord.

Then everything froze, and Harry realized that Voldemort was about to put a lot of power behind his next spell. When he tried to move, he realized his feet were covered in a sheet of creeping ice. No time to dodge, he lashed out with his own power. The two spells collided, and the room exploded. Walls groaned and buckled, the floor shattered, and the roof simply broke into pieces and flew upward. But the debris and magic had nowhere to go, the wards of the Ministry containing it all. After a few moments they each lessened their power, and surveyed the damage. Harry however was the first to recover, his feet free, he lashed out, a lance of invisible force pierced one of the few undamaged spots in the room. There was a gasp, and a woman materialized, the glamour fading away as she lost her concentration. Harry cursed… it wasn't her. Then he felt something hit him, and his whole back went cold. He rolled with the force, and realizing where he was headed, his form rippled his form changing that of a massive insect. His body was rounded, and carried him to where he wanted, whereupon he shimmered and lashed out with his limb, in an attempt to eviscerate the Dark Lord. The man was too quick however, a shield of magic forming and deflecting the hit, as Voldemort himself backpedaled. Reaching up to his back, his limb came back smeared with his blood. He shifted and saw the shards of black ice scattered from the direction he had come.

He spotted a figure for a brief second, before it vanished beneath a glamour, and cursed. He wanted to retreat, the terrain was unfavorable, and there had to be bystanders. He was outnumbered, though only maybe five of them were strong enough to be a real threat. But he couldn't back down. He wanted to kill the Dark Lord in front of him and the Winter Lady who was aiding him. He wanted to feast on their power. He wanted Ginny to be safe. He needed Ginny to be safe. So he reached down into himself and pulled more of the power out. He let out bestial roar and the world exploded into motion.

AN: My commissioner and I still haven't worked out our differences completely, and as a result this chapter is edited.


	10. Chapter Nine: Resonance

AN: I don't normally like to place an Authors Note at the beginning of a chapter, but I feel that it is necessary here. This chapter contains subject matter that may be ill received. It is certainly not for the squeamish, or those who are easily offended. I have rewritten this chapter almost two dozen times, and I still don't like how its turned out. But I'm not going to obsess over it any longer. There will be no further warnings within the chapter. Read at your own risk.

_** - Warrior Chapter Nine: Resonance -**_

Ginevra Molly Weasley let out an annoyed sound at looked up at the pair of figures blocking her light. Her fierce golden brown eyes didn't seem to phase the two men. They were, in almost every way, average. The one on her left had a scar that ran down the side of his face, and his left eye was milky and unseeing. The others only distinguishing feature was his balding top and terrible comb over, the wisps of hair looked like terrible emaciated fingers stretching across his head, giving him a very disturbing air.

"Miss Weasley."  
After glancing up at them, she returned to her work, runes wouldn't etch themselves. "Gentlemen, what you two here on such a fine day."  
Scarface spoke his voice a growl that her of a long time bar patron's, roughened by hard alcohol. "It's unpleasantly muggy and raining outside."  
Comb-over however was the one to actually answer. "We're with the Grey Guard. The Merlin has asked us to inform you that you will be returning to school this year."

Ginny stopped her work and pushed back from the desk to look at the men. "I've already graduated. Ten O's in Albion's NEWT tests. Thanks, but no thanks. Now, if you will excuse me-" Scarface tossed a packet at her, she didn't even react, it just halted in mid air and she set her tools down to take it. Opening the file folder she silently cursed.

"Your brothers, William and Charles are up for repatriation. I understand that the last time this happened they almost didn't meet the cut. Would be a shame if the Grey Guard had to err on the side of caution. After all, while your mother and father are model citizens, the rest of your family aren't so cut and dry are they? Ronald has been brought up 3 times with accusations of smuggling, Fred and Gorge have disappeared off the face of the earth after spouting rhetoric from a known rebel, William has spent five years living abroad, and Charles works and lives in the Eastern Free States. If we're counting potential risks in your family, that's five family members who are deemed at risk and four deemed not at risk."

She stifled a growl, and with an effort of will reinforced her mental spells. "I'm not participating in that fool hardy tournament. It has a near ninety percent mortality rate, and no compensation if you loose."  
Comb-over answered that one, "Ah, the Merlin and Her Majesty have told me to assure you that, if you should compete, you or your family will be compensated for the next fifty years with your standard wages. If you should survive, even if you fail, that would mean double your usual wages. That being said, we don't want you to fail," he pulled up a chair, sat down, and handed her another folder. "Miss Weasley. This year's competition is looking very stiff." She opened the folder and started to read. "That man is set to be competing for the USSR. His father competed back in seventy seven, they blew everyone out of the water, and we're near positive that he's the one who turned Lilly Evens traitor."

That made Ginny stop for a second. Lilly Evens had been one of the best and brightest sorceresses of her generation. She had entered Dragon's Throne three years early, and while still in school had developed the current treatment for Lycanthropy, transforming the cursed into full functioning members of society. Then she had turned traitor, gotten who knows how many people killed, and taken her research to the USSR. Her name was simultaneously praised and cursed in Albion. And from what she was reading, her son was absolutely no push over. Enough raw magical power to choke a dragon, his mental charts were top notch, but his physical prowess was off the scales. And if the predictions in the file were correct, he would be competing along side his sister, who dwarfed the boy in raw magical power. And that was why they wanted her to compete, her scores were the only ones that even came close to matching his. If it came down to a fight, she might be the only sorceress in Albion that might even stand a chance against him.

"I want double my normal wages as the package for participation, none negotiable."

- Warrior: En Garde -

Harry James Potter stared across the table at his mother, and she in turn stared back with her single piercing eye, though he could feel the hot intensity from behind her eye patch on him as well. His father continued to eat his breakfast calmly, his demeanor never shifting, as he steadfastly refused to get involved.

Harry broke the silence, "So I have no say in this?"

Lilly's response sharp, "No. You do not. You have obligations to your House, your school, and your country. You will be participating." Harry's hands clenched, and the wood of the table creaked under his grip. His mother looked on unimpressed, and continued to speak. "Harry James Potter. You are an heir of an ancient and noble house. You are one of the top five students at your school. And when you graduate, you will be entering the military as a middle level magical commander. You will do this." As she finished, her voice at a crescendo, she pushed back from the table and strode away.

Lilly Potter strode down the hall, her footsteps sharp and resounding in the quiet. It only took the woman a mere five minutes to reach her personal office. She waved a hand, disarming the enchantments, unlocked the door with a physical key, and then waved a card over the concealed reader. The final locks disengaged with a barely audible thunk, and then she pushed her way past the door. As it shut, accompanied by another thunk, she rearmed the enchantments and collapsed into her comfortable chair. It was smooth leather, a hand crafted piece made by her brother-in-law Vernon Dersley as a personal gift after she had managed to get his family out of Albion. In fact most of the furniture in the house was made by Vernon. He was an excellent craftsman, and often joked that if he hadn't pursued his chosen carrier that he would likely have turned into a very bitter man. Lilly snorted at the thought of Vernon being any sort of office man, he just didn't have the disposition.

The ring of the old rotary telephone on her desk pulled Lilly out of her thoughts. She sighed and retrieved it. "Operations Director Potter." She said clearly.

A high pitched and nasally voice responded, "Director Potter, you have a incoming communication from region twelve, district five." Lilly sighed in annoyance, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Did the caller identify themselves?"

"Yes Sir, Division Five Operations Chief David Sarif."  
"Make sure the line is secure, then patch him through."  
"Yes Sir."

The line clicked, and a light excited voice filled the line. "Lilly?!"

"Yes David?"

"I've solved the problem."

She sat up in her chair immediately. "What?"

His voice was almost giddy with excitement. "I said, I've solved the problem! It was the resonance chambers, the control system wasn't sensitive enough to pick up the minute differences in resonance between the separate chambers and their positions. We went in and installed separate control systems and linked them to the primary one. Now, it isn't up and running yet, and I need to run several tests to be sure, but by November, we should be ready to run the first full sequence."

Lilly sat in shock. Project Prometheus had been her baby, but it had been stalled for months, and she was running out of the clout that her name gave her. The Potter family had been very wealthy when they immigrated. And now, almost three centuries later, while their individual wealth as a family had been subsumed in what had become the USSR, their influence had not diminished. The destruction of rich aristocracy hadn't even phased House Potter, who handed over their wealth out of hand to help rebuild after the devastation of the War of Division, and the ensuing civil wars. Now they stood as model citizens, and part of the upper tier of society. And she had cashed in most of the families political capital to keep Prometheus afloat. It was why Harry had to compete. That action alone would buy her the time she needed. If they could finish the project, and it worked, every problem would be solved.

Shouting carried through the wall of her study, and her left eye twitched. Cursing, Lilly managed to open the door to her study just in time to see her husband fly past, the sound of wood and ceramic breaking made her cringe, and a quick glance confirmed that an antique Ming Dynasty Vase was now little more then broken shards. Turning, she was unsurprised at what she saw. While Harry looked like his father, Emily looked like a mirror of her mother, but just like her brother the eyes were wrong. Harry had pinned his sister Emily to the floor, her arms arched up enough that if he pressed any further they would likely be dislocated at the shoulder. His knee was planted firmly in the middle of her back, and his left hand gripped the back of her head, pinning it to the floor.

Magic radiated off of the girl in waves, and as each one flowed over her surroundings it tore into the wood. Gouges, dug as thou by invisible claws, appeared in everything. Everything that is, but Harry. While his clothing was already likely beyond repair, his skin was unmarred. Then, Emily let loose a feral scream, and a wave of energy tore down the hall. Lilly stepped in its path and brushed it aside, shattering the feeble construct with a precise application of will. Harry jerked his sister's head up and then slammed it down into the floor with a sickening crunch. Instantly the power was gone, and Lilly glanced back at her husband. James had already righted himself, and he looked more amused then anything else.

"What did you tell her?"

"Just that Harry would be participating in the tournament. She objected, I tried to put my foot down, but she objected with force."

"Harry?" Lilly's tone was questioning, clearly wanting confirmation.

Harry's tone was direct, and held little if any emotion, "James informed Emily of my participation in the tournament. Emily tried to strenuously object, James said that the matter was closed. Then Emily demanded to travel with the delegation, and James again objected. Emily became enraged, James made a comment that would be considered rude in most parts of the world, and Emily retaliated."

That piqued Lilly's interest, and an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, did your father say?"

"James's comment-" She cut him off.

"Word for word."

Harry hesitated for a moment, but under her piercing gaze he relented. "James said, 'Can't stand to be separated from your brother for a few months? I never thought you would miss your bed warmer.' Emily's response was... less then coherent."

Lilly sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose, then rounded on James. "What haven't you been telling me? I don't have time to be here to monitor our children, that was your responsibility."

James's hands shot up, palms out, trying to calm his angry wife. "Um... that is to say... you know I love you Lills..."

Lilly narrowed her eyes, and her tone was piercing and carried power behind it, "She ordered you not to talk, didn't she."

His tone was strained, as though someone was pushing a knife into his back and forcing him to talk, "I can neither confirm, nor deny, such accusations that may or may not be aimed at my daughter."

Lilly let loose a primal growl. If there was one thing that she hated, it was how her husband and son reacted to the extremely powerful. Emily and Lilly were dead even when it came to magical power, which meant that who James and Harry listened to was dependent on largely on who's willpower was stronger. And Lilly had to admit, her work had put a strain on her. Which meant that now both of them would listen to Emily, except that Harry had knocked his sister out cold. "Harry, why did you restrain your sister?"

His voice was, likewise, strained. "This morning, you said that it was important that there be no disruptions. If Emily had injured James, then that would have called attention and caused a major disruption to our schedules. As you said no disruptions, and Emily said that we couldn't let attention be drawn to us, I had no choice but to restrain and then render her unconscious."

"Harry, look me in the eyes." He did. "Don't answer if you can't. What has your sister been ordering your father to do?"

"Emily has ordered James to ignore anything outside of his work and personal life, namely, he was ordered to ignore anything that might be seen as inappropriate in our home."

Lilly could see dozens emotions playing across her son's face. Anger, sorrow, happiness, but it was the subtle rise in his body temperature and quickening of his pulse that gave it all away. Lilly gathered raw power into her left arm and slammed it into the wall, the wood splintering to reveal the tempered steal beneath. "Damn it. I should have been paying more attention." She looked into her son's eyes again. "You can't help it now, can you?"

His eyes were filled with a bizarre mixture of pride and shame. "No. Not unless someone can take me from her. She's been inside my head and laid her claim too much."

"And if I send you away to the tournament right now? Prevent any kind of contact?"

"I... I..." he stumbled over his words, "I don't think it would work. When I was out on my survival exam, I could hear her. She was calling out to me. I couldn't help it and called back. She found me."

Lilly collapsed against the wall, and slid down until she was seated. 'What am I going to do now?' She thought.

- Warrior: En Garde -

Ginevra Molly Weasley examined the body laid out before her. It looked like the man that they were after, but without even examining it wither her power, she knew it wasn't him. "It's not him." One of the men snorted, and another fixed her with a glare.

"And how can you tell? It is him! We took him down."

"Nope. It's another simulacrum." She reached up and brushed back his bangs. "See, the scar's on the wrong side." A round of curses was their reply.

"There's no way! How can someone split up their power this much and still have enough to take on almost two dozen Battle Magi?"

"Harry James Potter isn't someone to be underestimated." Ginny turned to look at the wizened form of Albus Dumbledore, the current leader of the world's magical men and women. Dumbledore had sat at the head of the Adamantine Council for half a century. He had seen the rise of three of the most evil Magi in history. Voldemort, Grindelwald, Carnafax, and now a fourth, Harry Potter. Though Potter, like all of his ilk, proffered a self styled moniker Amarok. Ginny knew why, but she couldn't tell any of them, bound by magic and her word to not reveal his secrete.

"Ginevra, you are excused. Please take a few days to rest and recuperate," the wizened man turned to regard the hunting party, "The same to the rest of you as well. Mister Potter will likely be inactive for a few days yet, thanks to your actions. We can start fresh on Friday."

Ginny quickly vacated the chamber. She hurried to her quarters, and grabbing her travel pack, made her way towards the nearest exit. The Mysterium, the headquarters for the Adamantine Council, resided below Athlone Ireland. The complex was massive, and could easily housing the every member of the Council, though few actually made their homes here. Only the most important Magi lived here, or those who the council deemed as needing to be watched.

Ginny was one of the Former. Officially, she was a analyst, she analyzed reports and artifacts. Unofficially, she was a member of the Guardians of the Veil. It was her job to make sure that the magical world wasn't exposed, and she was one of the best. However, her reputation had taken a major hit in recent years. Ginny had had and on again off again working relationship, that many suspected was more that what it was, with a Magi named Harry Potter. Harry had come out of nowhere, he refused to be a member of the Council, but at the same time didn't act against them either. He was a freelancer, moving from city to city solving problems.

But two years ago, that had all changed. The Guardians had discovered a cult of necromancers eastern block. When they arrived to exterminate the threat, they found them already dead. One after another, groups of rogue magi turned up dead, their artifacts and knowledge plundered. After almost six months, they had caught up to Amarok, who had been leaving behind messages in an attempt to discourage their pursuit. She was the only Guardian to walk out alive. After all, Harry couldn't kill her anymore then she could kill him. It had immediately cast suspicion on her, but she had done her duty. Told them everything, and that had set the Battle Magi on him.

Once she was outside in the cool night air, Ginevra Weasley gathered her will and plunged through the thin barrier into the Shadow. There were dozens of names for the place she was now. The Shadow, Otherworld, Farie, The Hedge, The Maze... so many names. It was a reflection of the world, it was the other side of the looking glass. Once you were inside it, material melted away, and spirit was all that remained. Every magi with even a bit of training could cross into and out of the Shadow, but only with enough power and a strong enough connection could you travel though it like she could. So, Ginny Walked The Pattern. It was an exercise, focus the mind and draw up your power and will, then release it. One minute she was in the Shadow of Athlone, the next she was deep in the forests of Canada. Quickly she crossed back into the normal world, and collapsed on a nearby fallen tree. Walking the pattern was taxing, and it wasn't without risk. But the more you did it, the better you got, and Ginny was one of the best. Maybe twenty magi could try to track her movement's, and none of them would be following her tonight.

She felt the growl long before she physically heard it. It was a deep sub vocal thing, but she ignored it until she felt hot breath roll over her shoulder. She couldn't keep the amusement out of her voice, "My my my. It seems I've been snuck up on by a big bad monster, whatever shall I do?" All the while she snaked a hand up the side of his neck then leaned into him and ran her fingers along his head. "We can't keep doing this." His growl rumbled through her back. "Don't even try to take that tone with me!" she snapped back, "I haven't told them anything, but your forcing me to make a choice here. I can't keep living a double life. I can't pretend that what you're doing is just misguided anymore. You've killed people..." Magic rippled through air, and his arms wrapped around her.

"I'm not doing this because I want to."

Ginny spun and slapped him, putting as much force into her had as she could. "Bullshit! If you didn't want to do it, you would have stop a long time ago!"

His face didn't snow any emotion, but his eyes were filled with sorrow. "Something's wrong with the world Snow. I'm trying to fix it."

She felt her power surge out of control, and she quickly tried to reign it in. But before she could, his own rose up as well, and she lost control. Her form shimmered, and she sailed through the air trying to pin him to the ground. Ginny was roughly slammed down onto the ground instead. Harry was easily twice her size after all. Both were Shifters, the slang term for those who pursued personal transformation magic of the animal verity, but while Ginny was a somewhat large gray wolf, Harry was a dire wolf. Harry had been the only Magi in over a century to be able to transform into a magical creature. Transformed, he was better then her in every way that mattered, except for one.

There were many reasons that few pursued become a Shifter. The process was difficult, and once you started, you either finished, died, were permanently transformed, or had to lop off a portion of your power. Not only that, you had no control over what you were. You might as easily be a fish as a hawk, and it could be a sever blow to someone's self image to realize that they weren't a revered lion but instead were a mole rat. Not only that, but when your animal form was a pure expression of your spirit. Centuries of study into the human sole had revealed souls acted as an anchor for the human spirit. Souls were genderless, passing in and out of the world, and carrying spirits with them. Souls carried spirits into the world, and attached to the first new formed life they came across. Spirits, unlike souls, did have gender. Yet another thing that might shatter someone's self image. And that is where we come to the crux of the issue. Both had completed their training before meeting each other. It left a mark that other Shifters could recognize. And their first meeting, trapped in a cave in the middle of a blizzard had been incredibly awkward at first. But now it was a shared memory of better days. Ginny batted aside the paw that held him down, and Harry didn't resist, just standing there with ears and tail drooping, looking very nervous.

"You're a liar!" Harry flinched back at the words, and tried to seem smaller, which only drove Ginny forward. "Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not. I wouldn't." Ginny lunged forward and Harry scrambled back, but only managed to trip and sprawl to the forest floor. Ginny planted his paw on her chest, pinning her this time.

"But you have, time and again! Give me one reason why I should rip your throat out and put you down like a rabid dog?!"

Harry averted her eyes, "If that's what you want, command me, and I will obey."

Ginny snarled, and turned away. Thoughts raced through Ginny's mind, 'Every time! Every time I come out here it's the same thing! We fight, I win, same simple command, and I can never give it. I want to just end this, but I can't!'

Ginny's thought were interrupted by whimpering and a nuzzle from Harry. "Stop brooding."

"It's your fault! If you hadn't gone down that path,"

"Then I wouldn't have realized what was wrong, or how to fix it."

"Harry, there's nothing wrong with the world! "

"Snow, there's so many things wrong with the world."

"Stop with the pet name, and so what that the world isn't perfect."

"It's not that the world isn't perfect, there's something seriously wrong with it. It's a fundamental problem... it's not something that words can properly describe. It's about layers of reality that don't add up. There are things happening here with no starting event, effect without cause. It's unbalanced!"

Ginny turned and fixed her with a piercing gaze. "Name one example."

"The storm that trapped us in the cave."

Ginny snarled, "Don't you dare bring that up!"

"You asked! That storm simply materialized over a two hour stretch. No spirit caused it. No sorcerer. No fey lords or complex rituals. And it froze everything, not just the physical world."

"So, what? Maybe the cause was to big, or that much higher then you, you ever consider that!"

"Snow... I spent over a year looking. I talked to beings that could see what I can't. I have to fix this!"

"So you just throw what we have away?!"

Harry snarled back, "Never! I'm doing this for us! Can't you see that Snow?"

- Warrior: En Garde -

Ginny Weasley sat next to her friend Hermione Granger as both listened in rapt fascination to the lecturer. Hermione had convinced Ginny to attend the conference in Geneva only through blackmail. Ginny hadn't wanted her family to know about her secrets, so the situation was unavoidable. 'Besides,' Ginny had thought, 'both of us needed the time away and some company.' The conference had started out just like Ginny had imagined. Discussions on mostly boring advancements or lectures about the shift of magical animal populations. By the time they attended the last conference on the fifth of the seven days of the conference, she had been ready to ditch Hermione, damn the consequences. Then the lecturer had been wheeled in. He didn't look that much older then either of them, his hair was short cropped and black, but the crown of his head was decorated with scars.

Upon closer inspection she realized that they were stylized markings, some form of ritual scarring most likely. He was white skinned, but that didn't rule out a life in parts of the world where he would have undergone such a process to 'fit in' with his peers. But the fact that he was wheelchair bound, was different. From what she could tell, it looked like he was missing both legs and an arm. When he looked out at the crowd however, her heart skipped a beat. His eyes were a emerald green and as they scanned the crowd, sparkling with a vast intellect, they stopped on her. She felt his gaze linger for several heartbeats before he moved on, and her heart resumed beating though at an accelerated tempo.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Harry Peverell and I'll be your host and lecturer this evening. Originally this lecture was supposed to be hosted by my master, the famed Nicolas Flamel and it was to be a reiteration of previous lectures given. However, due to unforeseen circumstances Master Flamel could not be with us tonight. So, instead, you all will have to be subjected to my own work. I had hoped to quietly pass my work off to someone else and avoid the spectacle related to it, but it seems that fate has other plans." He paused, raising his arm and flicked his wand at the wall behind him and writing sprang forth. Complex formule and instructions along with a wide list of indigence.

"I cannot thank Master Flamel enough for his help in my work, as well as the work of Potion Master Damocles and countless others. As a result of this, I am proud to announce today, a permanent treatment for those around the world afflicted with lycanthropy." Despite speaking quietly, his voice carried across the auditorium, silence following in its wake. For several minutes everyone, even the organizers and security stared in stunned silence at the man, who lowered his head to as a soft sad smile spread across his features. And then, just as suddenly, nearly every person in the room exploded into motion. Reporters began to shout questions, some of the more vocal members of the old guard began shouting insults, but Ginny sat frozen in place.

Hermione's voice was quiet, but broke her revery all the same. "Ginny..."  
Ginny Weasley turned and looked at her friend, her eyes were watery, threatening to spill their contents at any moment. "A real life. You realize what this means?" As Hermione wrapped her arm around her, Ginny turned to look up at the man who was now surrounded by security. He was looking right at her, and suddenly she remembered him. Turn back the clock almost fifteen years, give him back his arm and legs, longer hair, no scars, and remove most of the healthy weight. Ginny chuckled as she was reminded of just how smart she actually was. Few could do all of what she had just done in her head. But sitting there not thirty yards away was Harry. Her Harry.

They had met shortly after the British Ministry passed several draconian measures aimed at, as they had said, 'protecting the public' from those who were infected. Registration, strict monitoring, and even the requirement to be taken into ministry custody for the day prior, of, and after the full moon. Ginny had been attacked incredibly young, during the final dark days of Voldemort's reign of terror. When the ministry passed its laws, her parents had little choice but to comply. She had been a month shy of seven at the time.

There had been little bright side to the entire ordeal. In fact, it had been down right humiliating. When you registered you were given a reusable portkey that took you to your assigned facility. Everyone arrived throughout the first day. Men, women, children. Each and every person was examined upon arrival, a complete physical and mental examination, tough luckily the mental exam was only preformed once a year. Then everyone was locked in a room, forced to spend the rest of their time before mid afternoon the following day alone. The next day she had been rounded up with almost three dozen other children, all of whom had been locked together in a room, but not before those assigned to keep an eye on them had vanished their clothing. Twenty nine children, ranging from ages five to twelve all locked in a room together naked.

It had been humiliating. Several of the older kids had tried their hand at bullying the younger ones, until an older boy, Adam, had summarily shown that he wasn't going to stand for it. Two broken noses later the bullies had been exiled to a corner of the room. Harry had been cowering in one of the other corners. He had been scared out of his wits, and later Ginny learned that he had been infected less then a year. She had gotten over her embarrassment rather quickly that night, along with most of the rest. Though it didn't make the situation any more pleasant. Harry and Ginny had spent three years sharing that corner. Then one month, didn't show up. She had been worried, but wrote it off as him being sick or something of the like. But when the next month rolled around, she had very nearly had a panic attack. She had asked her father to look into the matter. What he had found was that Harry, who had no last name on the list, had been adopted and had moved beyond the borders of Brittan.

And then a realization hit her. He had done this for her. She had been his first friend, the children at the orphanage where he lived had been decidedly cruel, isolating him and bullying anyone who tried associating with him. Ginny reached out a hand, palm flat and pushed towards him. He responded in kind. And for the fist time, in a very long time, Ginny Weasley felt whole.

- Warrior: En Garde -

Harry James Potter reclined in a bed in his basement room in the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. His ancestral home had been transformed, and even now was being used in such a way that it made his blood boil. What right did Dumbledore have to claim it? What right did these strangers have to come and go as they pleased? But something else worried him even more. The fight at the ministry had turned into a three way battle royal, a proverbial clash of titans that had spilled out into muggle London. But that wasn't the worrying part. What had worried him, was when he and Voldemort had actually clashed. The Winter Lady had been an absolute power house in her own right, but every time he and Voldemort's powers clashed, it felt like a significant portion of the power involved had slipped away. Maybe it was because he was more sensitive. No... now that he looked back on it, things had been happening that he couldn't explain.

His feelings for Ginny. His reactions to people, places, and situations. Harry knew he was more sensitive then others, more prone to taking in subtle external cues, due to both his nature and upbringing. But the real question was... what did it all mean? Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the feeling that had been summoned up when his and Voldemort's power had clashed. Unfamiliar images flashed across his brain. War exercises in Siberia, being locked naked in a room full of children as his body transformed, fighting to escape a nest of vampires. He quickly pushed the images aside and drew on his power to break the trance. He bolted from his bed and stumbled to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. The eyes that stared back at him in the mirror were not his own. And for the first time that he could ever remember, Harry James Potter shivered in fear.

AN:  
There are several clues throughout this chapter as to the greater plot at work. I have had discussions with several people who found my work enjoyable, and some of them may have greater insight simply due to their asked questions. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up sometime later today or tomorrow. I would however, like to extend an apology for making everyone wait so long. As I said, I've been agonizing over this chapter for almost a month. I have over a dozen drafts, some much longer, some significantly shorter. Eventually I simply had to knuckle down and accept what I had written. I took inspiration from everything that I wrote and spun it all together into this.


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